Everyone wants love. But defining what exactly love is is something that no one in all of human history has been able to do.
I believe that’s because there’s something about love that goes beyond the human.
Perhaps the biggest problem in trying to understand the love of God is that our ideas of love are muddied by the superficial definitions of love that we find in popular culture. We think of love, for example in marriage, as some kind of business deal, where one person commits to loving another as long as they receive love in return. “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.”
But that’s not what God means by love at all.
The Bible says that love has its true origin and definition in who God is. It’s not that “God is loving,” but that God, himself, “is love.”
That’s why the love of God is not expressed in an idea, but in a person – in the person of Jesus Christ. That’s why his love is always irrepressible, always passionately seeking, and it’s always forever.
It’s not that “God is loving,” but that God, himself, “is love.”
God didn’t wait for us to love him first or to become better people before he loved us. The greatest expression of his love was switching places with you when he gave his life for you, so you could have peace and freedom today.
A key challenge in life is to accept that you are loved. How can a perfect God love me when I’m so imperfect? It’s our pride and the desire to earn love that stands in our way. But love that is earned isn’t love; it’s a reward.
But God just loves you because he does – fully, perfectly, and for ever. When you understand that, it frees you up to live on a higher level than you ever have before… and to live forever.
And if you ever feel too unlovable for God, think about these words that Jesus said: “I will never turn away anyone who comes to me.”
Article supplied with thanks to Dr Eliezer Gonzalez.
About the Author: Dr Eli Gonzalez is the Senior Pastor of Good News Unlimited and the presenter of the Unlimited radio spots, and The Big Question.