God = Love

God = Love

If you ask around for definitions of the word love, you’ll get lots of different answers. Try it sometime. Especially around Valentine’s Day, we tend to think of love in a romantic sense. Red roses. Boxes of chocolates. Hearts trimmed with lace doilies. However, from Hollywood to Hallmark, any definition of love that doesn’t feature God at the center is incomplete. That’s because God is love.

We don’t simply say God is love because he fits our understanding of the term. He came first. It was his nature to love before a human ever uttered the word. Did you know that Christians are called to be love—not just to respond in love, but to be love to those around us? Check this out: God is love (see 1 John 4:16). Jesus is God (see John 8:19; 10:30). We are called to be like Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). Which brings us full circle. As we become more like Christ, qualities of true, godly love will be more deeply ingrained in our character. So what are those qualities? Glad you asked!

You’ll often hear 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 quoted at wedding ceremonies for its beautiful, practical explanation of love. Since our goal is to be love to others, just replace the word love from verses 4-7 with your name to see how you’re doing:

“__________ is patient and kind. __________ is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. __________ does not demand [his/her] own way. __________ is not irritable, and [he/she] keeps no record of being wronged. __________ does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. __________ never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

Does that describe you? Odds are you have a thing or two to work on. That’s perfectly normal. Ask God for help. Then repeat this exercise every few months to check your progress. By the way, happy Valentine’s Day. God really loves you!

Daddy-Daughter Time

As you read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 with your name in place of the word love, which of those virtues would you consider strengths? Which need a little extra attention? Encourage each other by recalling times the other demonstrated love in one of these ways.

Visit a store and read through some Valentine cards together, rating each on a scale of one to ten. See who finds the best one, and give it to someone you love.

What’s The Word?

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.   1 John 4:16