This week I’ve been reflecting on the scripture, 1 John 4:16 featured in this image that my September podcast guest shared with me. I’ve asked myself, so what does it really mean that God is love? To answer this question, first I have to understand God’s behavior as described in the Bible. I know that he doesn’t force himself on anyone or show individual favoritism. I know that he shows kindness to everyone and that he always wants the best for me and others. I know that he is a gentleman, he protects, always trusts, always hopes, keeps no records of wrongs and his love never fails, as described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 in the Bible. As this is how God describes love, this is what his love is like.
The greatest expression of God’s love is also shared in the Bible in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It is God’s greatest desire that we join him in heaven and made this possible by his son’s sacrificial death on the cross to pay for our sins. This expression of God’s love is mind boggling to me.
So what does it mean that God is love? It means that everything God does is loving and is just and right. God is the perfect example of true love. To know God is to dwell in love.
