“God
is love.” This is a
concept I began to learn early in life, although I must admit I did not
understand it when I first memorized those three words when I was quite
young. Even now that I have lived
through many years of life and have seen the love of God demonstrated in other
people’s lives, in my own, and in circumstances, I still cannot grasp the
breadth, depth, height and width of God’s love, or of the immeasurable
concept “God is love.” We begin to
gain a little of the truth of this statement when we think how God continually
gives of Himself to others and seeks their benefit. In the high priestly prayer of Jesus as
recorded in John 17, Christ notes as He prays that the love of the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit were present “before the foundation of the world” (v. 24) and
that Christ has made known God’s characteristics to us so that the love of God
may be in us also (v. 25). God’s love is
the source of any love the Christian is able to give: “Beloved,
if God so loves us, we also ought to love one another” (I John 4:11).
God’s love is not just an abstract
principle. It was manifested in His
sending His Son into the world so that sinful humanity might live and have
eternal life. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for
his friends” (John 15:13, ESV). We
call this aspect of God’s love propitiation—(atonement,
in the stead of, sacrifice for; see I John 2;2 and I John 4:10). And that is
exactly what Jesus did for us. He is our
atonement, the sacrifice for our sins.
And in so doing, He was showing us that God is love. This is not a
sentimental love which someone has defined as “sentiment without
responsibility.” Love is understanding
the spiritual truth of the extent of God’s giving love—with the mind we grasp
the truth. Love is accepting in the
heart the depth of God’s love—and allowing that truth to make a difference in
how we live. The will must act upon the
concept—resulting in a determination to be different (and yes, a loving, caring
human being).
Charles Wesley in the eighteenth century
expressed the concept found in this verse, “God
is love; and whoever abides in love abides in God and God in him” (I John
4:16). In the words of the hymn of
adoration he wrote, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.” In it we find these glorious words:
“Love
divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heav’n, to earth come down;
Fix
in us Thy humble dwelling; All Thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus,
Thou art all compassion, Pure, unbounded love Thou art;
Visit
us with Thy salvation; Enter ev’ry trembling heart.”
May the words of this hymn be our
sincere prayer today as we try to understand “God is love.”
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