God is Love
Each week in our Great God series, we have been talking about an attribute, a characteristic of God. For many of us, we think about God as this Great Grandfather in the sky. We imagine him with piercing eyes, long flowing white hair, and a long white beard. He is often wearing a grey robe…
At least, that is a caricature of how the world depicts God. We often have a misunderstanding or a misinterpretation of God’s character – and those misinterpretations can impact how we live. So, that is why we are walking through this sermon series. We want to have a better understanding of God’s nature, not just for knowledge's sake, but because what we believe about God's character shapes how we live our lives.
Over the last four weeks, we have talked about God’s Glory, God’s Justice, God’s Goodness, God’s Wisdom…And today we are talking about His characteristic of LOVE.
How appropriate for Valentine's weekend. This is Valentine's weekend. Men, I hope Valentine’s Day has not caught you by surprise. From TV to social media to every website, we have been flooded with advertisements for flowers, chocolates, pajamas, perfumes, jewelry, and lingerie for the last few weeks. According to advertising, love means lingerie, convenience-store candy, self-care, and free shipping.
So how do you define love?
When I was a child, I did not understand what love truly was. I believed that my parents “loved me.” My dad was abusive, but he would tell me he “loved me.” So, I believed that if people were in an abusive marriage, it would be okay, as long as they loved each other.
When I fell in love with Kristy, I experienced just the opposite. I never knew what it was like to be cherished by anybody until Kristy cherished me. And because I experienced a childhood of twisted love, I can see the stark contrast between healthy, biblical love and a self-gratifying love described by the world.
Biblical love is not romance alone. Biblical love is not friendship alone. Biblical love is so much more than lingerie, chocolates, and sex. The Bible describes love as an attribute of God. Love is not something that God DOES – Love is part of WHO God IS.
1 John 4:7-12 (NLT2)
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. 8, But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 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. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
Verse 8 says pretty matter-of-factly that God is LOVE. He does not learn to love. He does not grow in love. God does not struggle to love. Love FLOWS from His nature.
We have a hard time defining love because our love is fragile or inconsistent. From our human point of view, love changes with circumstances…with our mood…based on how we are treated…or when people disappoint us. So – if you have ever wanted to be able to provide somebody with a definition of “love,” here is the most accurate and biblical definition I can come up with…
God’s love is His generous, self-giving nature
This passage carefully describes God’s love as His generous, self-giving nature. If you need a definition of real love, that is it. That is precisely what love is. God’s love flows from His character. God does not struggle to love because love is part of who He is.
I had to learn how to love other people. I had to learn how to be generous and self-giving. I had to learn how to love others selflessly - to give my time, my energy, my attention, and my desires for the good of someone else.
Most of us struggle to love with pure motivation. We tend to think of love as transactional. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. Men, even inside the covenant of marriage, we know how this works. When we serve around the house, we might point it out to our spouse.
“Did you see that I folded the laundry?”
“Did you see that I washed the dishes?”
And we point it out because we hope to see a return on the investment. We are hoping for affection in return for our “selfless giving.” We are hoping for appreciation. We are hoping for a connection. We are hoping for a little TLC, if you know what I mean. That is transactional love.
But God’s love is not transactional. God’s love is generous and self-giving.
Love is not primarily romance. Love is not primarily attraction. Love is not primarily emotion, affection, or chemistry. Love is generously giving yourself for another person’s good. Because that is how God loves. And that is why this passage says, “God showed how much He loved us.”
God’s love is demonstrated. It is visible. It is historical. It is anchored in the sending of Jesus to pay the price for your sin on the cross.
If you ever wonder how to define love, we do not look at advertising, slogans, or the culture. As followers of Jesus, we look to the cross. Because when you understand God’s generous, self-giving love, something changes inside of you. When we look at the cross and understand the ultimate demonstration of God’s generous, self-giving love…
When we surrender to Jesus and receive him as our Savior…
We are forgiven for our sin, we are made new, we are born again, and we have the spirit of the Living God living inside us…and then we understand that…
Being loved by God settles fear and fills us with peace
Have you ever noticed that when genuine love is absent from our lives, we are filled with insecurity, worry, and fear? If you grew up without genuine love expressed in your home, you know exactly what I am talking about…
But – the same thing happens to us if we grew up in healthy homes…when we grow uncertain whether or not we are loved by somebody we love…insecurity, worry, and fear take root in our relationships:
For example, if generous, self-giving love is absent in your life:
You may wonder if your spouse will be patient with you, so you walk on eggshells…
If you are a teenager, you may feel accepted by friends only when you agree with them and as long as you don’t stand out too much from them. Or you might wonder if your parents will love you less if you fail at sports or school.
If you are in a dating relationship, you may worry if your boyfriend or girlfriend will end the relationship because they think you are annoying if you are the real you…
Or maybe you feel you must constantly prove your worth to be respected.
But God’s love is not conditional, and it is not fear-based…just a few verses later…John describes further what it means to experience God’s love. He writes:
1 John 4:18 (NLT2)
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is out of fear of punishment, which shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
God’s love is not temporary. God’s love is not earned. He loves you unconditionally, right now. You can’t impress him. You can’t earn it. He is generous toward you – he gave you life. He likes your personality. He likes your smile and your eyes, and your features. He loves you exactly and precisely how you are.
That doesn’t mean he agrees with everything you have done. God loves you right now — not because you are perfect, but because He is loving. You cannot fail enough to make Him love you less. And when you experience His love by surrendering your life to Jesus, His love will fill you with real, lasting peace. His kind of love, experienced through surrendering your life to Jesus, transforms the way we relate to others.
1 John 4:11-12 (NLT2)
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
Because God loves you unconditionally… because you have experienced the fullness of His love through Jesus…
God’s love reaches full expression in us as we love others
No one has ever seen God. That’s why surrendering to God through Jesus requires faith. Nobody was there when God created the universe. Nobody was there when God spoke life into existence. They cannot watch Him walk into a room. They cannot hear His voice in a conversation.
But,people have seen God through YOU. If you are a follower of Jesus, his LOVE is brought to FULL expression through YOU. Meditate and marvel at that for a minute. Savor it.
God’s generous, self-giving love flows to you, and through you. As you love other people, His LOVE is seen through you.
When we forgive someone who hurt us.
When we serve without expecting anything in return.
When we show patience instead of frustration.
When we extend grace instead of keeping score.
When we love people who are difficult to love.
That is when God’s love reaches full expression. Not halfway. Not kind of…the FULL expression of God’s love is seen through you.
Now – let’s get personal. Why is it that the people who are closest to us are the most difficult people to express love to at times? Most of us express more love to a co-worker or a friend than we do to the people who live under the same roof with us. When my teenage daughters start flipping out, getting upset, digging in their heels, or refusing to listen to our wonderful parenting advice - I do not express love to them like I am capable of.
Maybe you have somebody hard to express love to right now. Maybe it is a spouse. Maybe it is a parent. Maybe it is a child. Maybe it is a coworker. Maybe it is someone who hurt you deeply. Maybe it is someone who keeps disappointing you.
If you want God to work in their life – LOVE them.
If you want God to change their heart – LOVE them.
If you want them to experience a life-changing relationship with Jesus…LOVE them.
Because when you LOVE them, when you speak kindly to them, when you forgive them, when you are gentle with them, when you do not retaliate, they see the full expression of God’s love in YOU. And the Bible teaches that it is the “kindness of God that turns people from their sin.”
So – LOVE them. As you LOVE those difficult people…God will change them. It may not happen immediately. It may take time. And what is the worst thing that can happen to you if they don’t change? You become more like Jesus? So loving others is worth it.
As a church, we have an opportunity to demonstrate love together. Coastline Women’s Medical Center is a “crisis pregnancy resource” in Horry County. They are a ministry that supports women in carrying their babies to full term and then walks with them for up to a year afterward. They provide resources to help equip these young mothers. And, we can demonstrate God’s love to them by throwing the largest baby shower they have ever experienced.
February 14-22 Baby Shower items found in the Beach Church app can be dropped off in the lobby on the weekend, or in the front office during the week. All items must be new. Let’s show the love of God and bless them with car seats, diapers, sippy cups, play-mats, pack-and-plays, and bouncies! Please refer to the Beach Church app for a full list.
The clearest picture of God’s love in this world is not a sermon. It is not a song. It is not a building. It is not a program. It is God’s people, loving people, the way He has loved us.