What’s God’s Love

     Initially we explored who God is and His amazing love, but, what exactly is this love that many ascribe as to being beyond measure? Answering that from the fulcrum point of “What” seems like a constraining task as it’s much easier to describe than define…how could we possibly quantify something we can’t really measure. Nevertheless as they say, the truest nuance of love is by actions or expressions and God certainly has portrayed His love in multiple ways.

     A common question often asked is, If God’s love is so great then why does He let people suffer or create a world with suffering? We’ll delve into that in-depth later on, for now let’s go back to the beginning of the universe. If you were a parent and had a child and sheltered them from the world only exposing them to good things, would that ultimately make them good or would their goodness be determined by having been in a position to do bad but chose to do good? As you ponder on that Genesis outlines that in the beginning God created a perfect world.

     He created man in His own image which meant man had the perfect qualities that God had and at the end of the first chapter ‘God saw all He had made and it was very good’. Because of God’s love, and creating us in His own image, He gave us free will and in so doing asked man not to do just one thing, eat from the tree of knowledge. Which man ultimately failed to do. The disobedience did not only cause a separation from God but a breakdown of the entire creation. The world was broken and man became vulnerable to sin and with it came pain and suffering.

     Nevertheless God’s love and compassion for man was so great that He ultimately sent His only Son not only for the salvation of mankind, but, for the restoration of man’s relationship with Him and others through His grace.

     Consequently God’s love can be ascribed as a passion and a pain. Imagine…taking the bullet for someone who spat on your face, or knowing and feeling everyone’s pain and struggles but being rejected when you offer to help, or seeing the people you love take the wrong path but they won’t take heed to your voice and guidance, or having so much unconditional love for people who rebel against you…. That is the love of God. A love that’s so driven and dedicated in fulfilling its task that even ‘the creation awaits eagerly for the manifestation of the sons of God.’ The sacrifice at the cross is the ultimate amplification of God’s love manifested through passion and pain.

        His love is also is a relentless pursuit; it is so insensitive to rejection that the most obnoxious attempts to escape the infamous friend-zone could not compare. However, unlike superficial romance, God’s love is patient and doesn’t demand to be accepted. It gives without expecting anything in return. It is simply a perpetual force that’s determined to draw us back to Him no matter how far we’ve strayed away. Be it a gentle whisper or a wrestling match, it beckons us to draw closer and come out of hiding; it reassures us of its good intentions and promises no terms or conditions.

       The most significant part of this love is that it doesn’t take off-days. Its activity is independent of our response. The love of God is the agent of restoration, renewal and rejuvenation. It is ascribed as springs of living water. It strengthens us, comforts us and restores us. It undoes damages, restores broken hearts and revives the weak with new hope and new strength. How is it so versatile though? It sounds like a universal adhesive, fixing everything. That’s because the love of God is the one thing that the ultimate well-being or survival of mankind draws from.

     You see, God’s love isn’t an ordinary love. It is a divine commission that’s dedicated to complete us in a way that no other human being or thing can. Paul in scripture outlines that nothing can separate us from God’s love and John simply emphasized that God is love. If we who are not perfect know how to love our children what about God’s perfect love? He’s not saying that we shouldn’t exemplify Him when it comes to loving others, but He’s trying to let us know that He is the ultimate love and that no one could ever complete us but Him. So run to the Father Himself; His love is a fountain that never runs dry.

     To ask what God’s love is, is to ask what love is…as God is love and unlike the worldly love that’s often misconstrued or conditional, the nature of God’s love is described in Corinthians:

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

References:
Gen 1:27, Romans 8:37-39
Gen 1:31, 1 John 4:11
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Contributions by S.T