Love

The Bible says that “God is love.”

1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

God IS love!

There’s an infinite depth within those three words that you may never have thought about or seen before. When some of us think of God, we only see Him as the judge, or the giver of the law, or the punisher of sin. We may think He is harsh and hard to understand – or even like. Let’s look at this from a different angle.

If God IS love, that’s where He comes from in every situation. It’s His motive. 

• He is the righteous Judge who separates right from wrong to protect us. 
• He gave the law in the Old Testament to define a path for people to do what was necessary to avoid sin and if sin occurred, to be forgiven by a specific sacrifice to pay the debt. This was all in preparation for the Messiah, Jesus, who came as the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin. 1 John 4:10 (NLT) in the New Testament says, “This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”
• He is the punisher of sin because it’s destructive to ourselves, to others, and to the world. He is holy and good and will not let anything evil have victory in the end.

Do you see the pattern? Our culture says, “do whatever you want, there are no rules except the ones you make yourself,” so of course it would seem harsh or restrictive to have any consequences for our choices. However, God’s not being a buzzkill or a control freak dictator that takes pleasure in punishment. That’s actually the opposite of the truth. He IS love. Because He loves us, He protects us. He protects us because, as believers, He is our Heavenly Father who cares for His children. 

So, then, what is love?

You may have heard of “the love chapter” in the Bible, found in 1 Corinthians 13. Maybe you’ve read it many times. This time, let’s read verses 4-8 with an open heart and a new thought. Because God IS love, these verses aren’t just flowery language to be written on greeting cards. He has given these words to us to describe Himself so that we can know Him as He truly is.

“ 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails.”

This is the love He has for you and for me. If we believe in Him, His love also flows through us and out to others. What a beautiful gift to receive and to give.

1 John 4:12 says: “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.”

God’s powerful love can change us and can change the world.

RESET HIGHER: As you read this, did you think about God differently? In what way did you reset your understanding about Him? How will this change you?