GETTING TO KNOW GOD:  HE IS LOVE

TEXT:  "God is love." - 1 John 4:8

Through the years, many songs have been written about love.  Novels and poems have been penned about the subject of love.  These days, the word, "love," is misunderstood, misrepresented and misapplied.

Despite all the writings about the topic of love, few have been able to truly express the meaning of the word.  The best description of love is found in the Bible.  The Apostle Paul dedicated an entire chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, to the subject of love.  As we examine 1 Corinthians 13, we come away knowing that John was right when he wrote, "God is love."

Love is perhaps the most notable attribute of God.  John did not write that God simply loves people, instead John wrote that God IS love.  God possesses love, but more importantly, love is who He is.

All that we know about genuine love in this life constitutes just a shadow of the fullness of God's loving character.  His love is measureless because God Himself is infinite. 

God has demonstrated His love to us in a powerful way.  John 3:16 states, "For God so LOVED the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (Emphasis mine).  Furthermore, Jesus said, "Greater LOVE hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13, emphasis added).  God's love was vividly displayed for us when Jesus died for our sins.  The cross of Jesus remains the greatest emblem of genuine love.  Paul echoes this truth in Romans 5:8: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

We would not know anything about love if God did not demonstrate genuine love to us.  He has granted mankind (yes, even unbelievers) the experience of enjoying and expressing human love. 

When we come to know God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, we are blessed to drink deeply from the fountain of God's love.  God graciously allows us the opportunity to have fellowship with Him.  We are permitted to bask in His love. 

Because we are touched by such divine love, we become agents of His love.  After conversion, a man begins to have a stronger love for his family, friends and his new spiritual family.  Love overflows his heart and splashes on those he meets.

Since God resides within the heart of a believer, the expression of love becomes a natural product of God's presence.

We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).  Yet our love for Him pales in comparison to the amazing love He has shown to us.

It amazes me that God would want to have anything to do with us at all, yet He has shown sacrificial love to us.  God gave His very best for us --- all because of love.

To know Him is to love Him...because God is love.