This is part 2 of a 10-part series. View the entire series here.
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.” – John 15:9-10 NLT
God Is Love
Our God is described as many things––Wonderful Counselor, Almighty, Helper, Strong Tower, King of kings. But none of His attributes are as important as love.
The Bible doesn’t describe God as only being loving. First John 4:8 tells us that God is love. He embodies perfect love. If we are to understand what it looks like to bear the fruit of love, we must deeply understand and experience the epitome of all love––God’s love.
The apostle Paul outlines what love looks like in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
As we reflect on this passage, we can celebrate that God’s love perfectly demonstrates this kind of love without fail.
There is nothing that compares to His deep, selfless affection for us. And it is this very love that He calls us to show to the world.
Known for Our Love
Modern culture recognizes the importance of loving one another. But what does this love look like? Influencers, celebrities, social groups––all have a different picture of love.
Jesus tells us that we will be recognized by the world as His followers for the way we love one another. But if the world can’t settle on what love is, how can we be known for love?
Simply put, if God is love, how He loves defines how we should love.
For many, love has become synonymous with acceptance. If we love someone, we must accept them as they are without any call to change.
God’s love is a beautiful picture of the Gospel. It’s an active love that accepts the sinner while rejecting the sin. It is open-armed to all people, while never missing the opportunity to direct the human soul to the saving grace of God.
This heavenly devotion pulls us from the depths of our troubles and leads us into the glorious light of Jesus.
This is love.
Not an emotion. Not a feeling. But a choice––a choice to do what’s best for another with no expectation of anything in return.
This is love.
This is God.
Growing in Love
How are we to grow this first fruit of the Spirit? John tells us it begins in the simplest, most beautiful way imaginable: receiving God’s love freely.
God’s love cannot be mustered up from our own flesh. It cannot be born of our own inner strength. No, this wholesome love must be an overflow of God’s love ceaselessly poured into us. To pull from any other source would be to show a different kind of love.
The love of God begets the love of God. Abide in His love. Embrace it. Enjoy it. And from that experience, lavish that same love onto others.
