God is Love

We defined love yesterday and used 1 Corinthians 13 as the framework for our definition.

Love is:
❤️ Patient.
❤️ Kind.
❤️ Does not envy.
❤️ Does not boast.
❤️ Is not arrogant.
❤️ Is not rude.
❤️ Does not insist in its own way.
❤️ Is not irritable.
❤️ Is not resentful.
❤️ Does not rejoice in wrongdoings.
❤️ Rejoices with the truth.
❤️ Bears all things.
❤️ Believes all things.
❤️ Hopes all things.
❤️ Endures all things.

Now, the Apostle John repeatedly tells us God IS love. Love is His intrinsic characteristic.

So, God is :
❤️ Patient.
❤️ Kind.
❤️ Does not envy.
❤️ Does not boast.
❤️ Is humble.
❤️ Is not rude.
❤️ Selfless.
❤️ Is not irritable.
❤️ Is is not resentful.
❤️ Does not rejoice in wrongdoings.
❤️ Rejoices with the truth.
❤️ Bears all things.
❤️ Believes all things.
❤️ Hopes all things.
❤️ Endures all things.

God acts that way toward every single one of us every single day. It is truly amazing – stunning – jaw dropping. God’s very nature is love. All that He does and says is informed by love.

John tells us because God is love whoever loves like this is born of God and is a child of God. But whoever does not love like this is not of God and does not know God.

Let that sink in. In order to be considered a child of God – we MUST love like God loves. That is a hefty ask to love like that. It seems almost impossible. Yet, this is precisely how God loves us and how He expects us to love others.

We must learn from God so we can imitate His love. We must study and explore the nature of God’s love so we can put those characteristics to work in our lives.

Let’s learn to love like God because God is love. #LearnToLove