GOD IS LOVE
1 John 4:7–19
If a survey were conducted by any church and the members were asked to choose their favorite attribute of God, the top selection by a landslide would be His love. Love is something we each desire to give and receive. God is holy and all-powerful, but that does not mean He is distant.
To the contrary, He is personal and intimate with each of us, and the love He demonstrates toward us is without compare. In today’s passage, we see God’s great and perpetual love for His children.
Love comes from God because God is love. (7–10)
With each passing generation, a new collection of love songs, movies, poems and stories fills the culture. No matter the time or place, people have always found creative ways to share their stories of love. The Word of God clearly states that love originates with Him. Love is not our idea or invention. We are able to know, experience and share love because of God’s mercy, which He extends to us through Jesus Christ. Contemplate these verses.
They reveal that we cannot know what genuine love is or even share it if we do not know God. So much of what the world labels as love is simply infatuation or lust. Along those same lines, the person who does not know Jesus is missing the only genuine and lasting love available.
When we remain in God’s love, His love is made complete in us. (11–15)
Love is beautiful when it is professed, but it is only meaningful when it is practiced. When we choose to love others, the beauty of God is revealed. A person who has experienced God’s love should be eager to share it. The test of any love-based relationship is how committed we are when things don’t go our way.
These verses remind us that we can abide in the love of God because of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Do you see how the beginning, duration and eternality of love are rooted in God? His love for us is immeasurable and vast. Our greatest assurance in salvation rests on the love of Jesus, expressed in His sacrifice.
We love because God first loved us. (16–19)
When someone loves us, our confidence soars. Our ability to serve Christ and His body is not solely based on our skills, attitude or gifts. While those things are important, the fuel that keeps us going is God’s perpetual love for us. We are able to love God and serve Him because He first loved us. This assurance gives us confidence and comfort in our darkest days. So much about love in our world is spoken but rarely seen.
The supreme exhibition of love will never be matched. It is found in our Savior’s suffering and death for our sins on the cruel cross. Then, to provide an exclamation point to His love, God raised Jesus from the dead, and Christ is alive today for all to know in a transformative way.
I am not a writer of love songs, but I do know the object and source of the only love that will last for all eternity. My friend, Jesus loves you. He really does. I pray that by your words and deeds, His love will extend to those you care for and know.
By Bobby McKay
Pastor of New Liberty Baptist Church in Morton, Mississippi
