God is Loving

“Love is patient, love is kind [and] is not jealous; love does not brag [and] is not arrogant, … bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…” (1 Corinthians 13:4, 7 NASB)

This is a biblical description of love from a letter that Paul wrote to a church in Corinth. This chapter describes love at its best. An expression of love that we as humans often have trouble living up to. We even find it hard to be patient and kind with those we are closest to and love the most!

In the Old Testament, God describes Himself as “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands…” (Exodus 34:6-7 NASB)

One of the Hebrew words for love in the Old Testament is chesed, and it is often used to describe God’s love for His people, Israel. It is a complex word that can’t be translated into just one English word. At different times, it is translated as loving-kindness, mercy, and steadfast love, describing a deep and abiding love; a love that never failed, even when his people Israel failed to love Him back.

In the book of Nehemiah, some of the Israelites had been blessed to return to the land of Israel after captivity in Babylon. They were moved by God’s love for them, realizing the kindness with which He had treated them. They recounted the history of Israel that led up to their captivity, concluding “You are a God of forgiveness, Gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness…” (Nehemiah 9:17 NASB)

But you might wonder, what does this have to do with me? In the New Testament, there are many beautiful verses about God’s love for us. Though his people Israel had proven again and again that humans are weak and have many failings, He still loves us and has made a way to save us all.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16; NASB)

And to be clear, we don’t have to be perfect and sinless to benefit from this act of love!

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8; NASB)

This is the definition of grace: a free gift that is undeserved and cannot be earned. But why? Because it is a demonstration of His love for us!

“Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ…In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:3-7; NASB)

He has even adopted us as sons, so we don’t have to be of His chosen people, Israel, to be part of His family. This is such an amazing gift of love. What does He ask in return? That we love one another, showing each other the love of God in our actions toward each other.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. … 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. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:7, 10-12; NASB)

This is the message of the Bible in a nutshell. God created mankind and loved His creation. Though mankind failed to act in a way that pleased Him, He loved them anyway and made a way for them to be freed from their sins. Sin is anything we do that misses the mark, taking us further away from the righteousness of God. By giving us His son Jesus as a propitiation for sin (propitiation = a way for us to regain favor or goodwill, a reunion, so to speak), once for all, He invited us to be a part of His family. Not only that, but we can be eternally united with Him in his kingdom to come!

And what does He ask in return? That we acknowledge our sins and be baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38). That way, we do not have to be doomed to perish (die and stay dead eternally), but have eternal life (John 3:16), through Jesus Christ our Lord. And as a thank you for this amazing free gift, He asks that we love one another, showing His amazing love and character to the world through our actions.