A Loving God
The mystery of God lies beyond our full understanding. He is not an object that we can find by ourselves (Job 11:7). The Bible does not give us a systematic and philosophical description of His being. It presents a God who reveals Himself through His actions, through the way He relates to us. We come to know who He is by what He tells us about Himself; otherwise we would know little about Him.
The Scriptures tell us that God is by nature love; that is to say, the essence of His being is self-giving, and this is expressed in concern for the well-being of others.
What do the following texts tell us about the character and nature of God? Ps. 118:1–4; Rom. 5:8; 8:37–39; 1 John 4:8, 9, 16.
The statement “God is love” takes us into the core of the divine and tells us: (1) “God is love” means that an exploration into God’s essence would reveal that it is, by nature, love. This understanding of the nature of God is of extreme importance in the doctrine of atonement. (2) “God is love” means that He is a relational Being; He enjoys by nature fellowshiping with His creatures. It is precisely in that personal interaction that He reveals His love. If we want to know whether God loves us or not, we do not examine our feelings and emotions but look at the way He has treated us in spite of our sinfulness. (3) “God is love” means that there is nothing outside God that can move Him to love us. Because God is by nature love, it is unnecessary, even impossible, for us to make ourselves lovable in order to be accepted by Him. And nothing, of course, reveals His love toward us more than the plan of salvation. Indeed, the moment we fell into sin, Christ became our Mediator, Redeemer, and Savior—the ultimate expression of God’s love toward the fallen race.
| “Since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11, NIV). What are practical ways in which you can express love toward others? What things in your own life hinder you from showing that love? |
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