Love is…
In February, the word “love” is everywhere. We see it on cards, in movies, and on candy hearts. But for the believer, love isn’t just a sentiment or a fleeting emotion; it is the very essence of who God is.
“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” - 1 John 4:8
The Bible makes a powerful statement in 1 John 4:8: God is love. Notice it doesn’t just say God is “loving” (an adjective) or that He “loves” (a verb). It says He is love (a noun). This means that love didn’t start with us; it started with Him. He is the source, the definition, and the standard.
The world often defines love based on how someone makes us feel. We use is loosely when we say we love a pair of jeans or coffee. And we can easily fall out of love when someone or something else comes along that reignites that love feeling.
But God defines love by who He is. His love is steadfast, unchanging, and entirely unmerited. Before we ever did anything to deserve it, He was already the embodiment of Love.
If the “noun” of love is God’s nature, the “verb” of love is found at the Cross.
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” - John 15:13
Here, Jesus shows us that love is sacrificial, a choice of the will. It is the act of seeing the greatest need of humanity and meeting it at the highest cost to Himself. This is the God is love difference from our human love. Our love often seeks to gain something, but God’s love always seeks to give everything.
Because God is love, and because Christ showed love, we as believers are called to the service of love.
“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” - 1 John 4:11
Our love for others is not a performance to win God’s favor, but a natural overflow of knowing Him. It’s the ability to look at our neighbor, our coworker, or the stranger in the grocery store and see them through the lens of God’s perfect love.
This month, let’s challenge ourselves to move past the world’s version of love. Let’s look for ways to be “verb” people. Let’s live out the gracious and sacrificial love that can only come from a God who is Love itself.
