GOD’S LOVING HEART

“In this the LOVE of GOD was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” – 1 John 4:9

The strength of the Christian’s Life is hinged on increasing intimacy with GOD’S LOVING HEART: “In this the LOVE of GOD was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 Jh.4:9-11). God’s Love is no ordinary love! His Love is sacrificial and selfless!

God has lavished His Love on us: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1Jh.3:1). But as limited and myopic as we humans can be, we could never fully understand the depths and the greatness of His Love for us. Unlike the depictions and tales of love that the world presents, God's Love for us is distinct and amazing. Because He loves us, He sent His one and only begotten Son to pay for our sins and provide the way for us to be reconciled with Him – at a cost that He had to pay for Himself. There's not one love story that could ever compare to that.

What if God was not love? What if He existed as all-knowing and all-powerful but lacked the attribute of love? The reality is that Love sets the God of the Bible apart from whatever other entity may try to claim deity through any other religion. Everything He made and everything He’s doing flows from His Love. When we see love in the world, it’s a reminder that we were made in God’s image. Love exists among us because it’s part of God’s character: “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. GOD IS LOVE, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1Jh.4:16). Other religions say “strive”; our God says, “Love.”

God is our Heavenly Father: “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him” (Psa.103:13 NIV). For those who had loving fathers growing up, seeing God as a loving Dad makes it easy to comprehend His Love for us. But He doesn’t just love us; He is Love (vv.8, 16). Love is not just what God does, it’s who He is. God cannot be indifferent to what happens to us because it’s not in His love-nature. We can rest on and submit to Him who is Love and who manifests a loving Heart. We can bear any circumstances knowing we walk through them with Him who loves us and wants the best for us.  

If God counts relationship with us worth the death of Jesus, that’s how valuable we are in His Heart. Oh, what an unfathomable love: “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Eph.5:2). With all that the Father witnessed as His Son hung on the tree, with all the suffering Jesus faithfully endured, God still considers Jesus’ death a “sweet fragrance.” Such is the incredible depth of His Love for us – the enormity of His affection for us!

When God placed the sin of humanity on Christ’s shoulders He was able to take the position of the father in the story of the prodigal son, running out to meet us as we are – His children finally able to return home to Him for good. God so longed for communion with us that He paid the ultimate price. He counts us worthy of the death of His Son. This truth must shape our identity. His Love must be the foundation for our perspectives, thoughts, emotions and actions. May we be rooted in our heavenly Father’s unshakable love, living daily in His eternal embrace, knowing that we’re wholly and forever His Beloved, in Jesus name!