If someone were to describe you in a single word, what word would they use?
Exciting? Mysterious? Determined? Relaxed? Or some other word?
It’s hard to sum up a human being in a single word, and it’s even harder to sum up God in a single word. But the early Christian leader, the apostle John found that word, and he shares it in his first letter. Here’s what he writes: “…God is love.” 1 John 4:8
God may be many things—Creator, all powerful, all knowing, eternal, holy, and the list goes on—but the one attribute that eclipses them all is love.
What is love?
Love places high value on another being—not for selfish gain—but for their lasting benefit.
In humanity, we see broken forms of love. A husband “loves” a wife until she no longer makes him feel good, then he abandons her like a broken toy. A parent “loves” a child until that child makes life choices that disappoint. A friend “loves” another friend until that friend votes for the wrong candidate. And so on.
God’s love is not broken. It doesn’t waver, it doesn’t falter. It remains.
God’s love is wise. A loving parent doesn’t allow a little child to eat a whole bucket of candy. In the same way, God doesn’t always let us get our own way because He knows best. He understands things our small minds and small hearts cannot yet comprehend.
God’s love is empathetic. When you hurt, God hurts. When you’re happy, God is happy with you. He feels your pain. He’s cheering you on.
God’s love is protective. God sees and knows better than we do all the things that threaten our fragile existence. He works to protect us from anything that could do eternal damage to us, as well as most things that can do temporary damage.
God’s love is healing. Living in a broken world, all of us sustain injury to our bodies and souls. God cares about those hurts, and He heals. Some of that healing happens in this life; the rest in the next.
God’s love is open handed. Love isn’t love if the other person isn’t free to walk away. God will always love us, but He won’t make us love Him in return. That’s up to us. We can stay in a loving relationship with God, or we can turn around and walk away.
God’s love is forgiving. Yeah, we mess up, and God understands that. But He’s ready to give us a fresh start. We fall down, but He helps us up, dusts us off, and gets us back into the game.
God’s love is embracing. God wants to be with you. He likes hanging out with you. He likes being your friend. He likes you. He likes entering your world. (Are you letting Him in?)
God’s love is eternal. This life is too small to contain the love God has for you and for me. So God designed a much bigger life—eternal life—so that He has room to show us all the different ways He loves us. The apostle Paul writes, “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’” 1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT (quoting Isaiah 64:4)
Here’s the video version of this post on YouTube!
Have a super week!
Dwight
