Saying "God is Love" is very easy, but how do we really define it? The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines love as a "strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties". Often this "strong affection" stems from a sexual attraction for that other person.
We love other people when we are interested and attracted to them and when they make us feel good. Notice that a key phrase in the dictionary definition of love is the phrase "arising out of." This phrase implies that we love conditionally; in other words, we love someone because they fulfill a condition that we require before we can love them.
There are a lot of Bible verses saying something about God as Love.
In 1 John 4:16 it says, “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.”
In 1 John 4:7 it says, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.”
Our love is based on feelings and emotions that can change from one moment to the next. Do you remember a time when you said to a person “I fell out of love. There’s no spark anymore.” It’s pretty sad, because love is not all about feelings and emotions.
Can anyone really understand "unconditional" love? The love that parents have for their children is as close to unconditional love as we can get without the help of God's love in our lives. We continue to love our children through good times and bad, and we don't stop loving them if they don't meet the expectations we may have for them. We make a choice to love our children even when we consider them unlovable; our love doesn't stop when we don't "feel" love for them. This is the same to God's love for us, but as we will see, God's love transcends the human definition of love to a point that is hard for us to comprehend.
Let’s look further into it:
1. THERE IS A NEED FOR ALL OF US TO BE LOVED
All of us have an intense desire to be loved and nurtured. Because of it, we tend to become selfish. It then distorts our idea of love, making us more far away from God.
2. BUT… GOD SHOWS US REAL LOVE
1 John 4:10
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
God’s love for us is irreplaceable. When you genuinely feel His love, no words can describe how you’ll feel. When you realize how much He has sacrificed His only son, just to restore our relationship, you will feel what love really is.
3. GOD WANTS US TO DO THE SAME
God is Love, and His love is way different from human love. God's love is unconditional, and it is not based on feelings or emotions. He does not love us because we are lovable or because we make Him feel good; He loves us because He is LOVE. He created us to have a loving relationship with Him, and He sacrificed His own Son to restore that relationship.
God wants us to do the same. He wants us to sacrifice and give everything for love. To decide out of love, and not out of fear.
It may be very difficult, but showing love to your neighbor will go a long way. Love people, not only those who does good to you. Forgive. Forget. Love those who hate you. Love those who judge you.
