Day 13 | Love Definition

Read 1 John 4:7–21

As we read this passage, it is interesting to see how it describes the mere concept of love as God’s entire being. It’s not a trait or an aspect, but it’s who He is. It’s in everything He has done and will do. Even if we dislike something He’s done, it’s still love. We get a glimpse of this from our parents. We may not have liked the rules they had for us, but as we got older, we saw that the rules were there because of love. This kind of love can be such a foreign concept to our human brain.

Love is a word we tend to throw around almost carelessly. We talk about how we love a meal or a movie or a band. When we end up seeing love as taking pleasure in something, it cheapens the concept of love. The type of love God is, is not dependent on pleasure. It’s His entire being. When we can grasp that God is love, it opens us to a love we’ve never experienced.

1 John 4:9 says God showed us an unfathomable love by sending His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Let that truly sink in for a moment. In a culture where we pride ourselves in our possessions, God gave up the thing most precious to Him, His Son. We continue to see that love on display when Jesus gives Himself up while knowing the pain and torture He would endure. I think we’ve almost become desensitized to the magnitude of the love required to go through with something like that.

The entire Bible is really a love story. It’s God’s love on display in His redemption plan for us. Our entire ability to love—truly love—comes from God. To love our enemies and forgive those close to us is the type of love that can only come from our Creator. The closer we get to Him, the greater our ability to love becomes.

Pray for 10 minutes