God Is Love

1 John 4:16--And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

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I’m a sucker for a good romantic comedy. This morning, having been advised to take it easy for a bit and get past the after-effects of a migraine, I sat down to watch “The Accidental Husband.” In many respects, it’s a typical formula romance, and its theme is not uncommon in Hollywood—don’t settle for practical, go for passion. One thing I especially like about these movies is that they remind me how much I love my husband. On this particular morning, he is the one who advised the laziness that led to my movie watching, as he was on his way out the door to run errands and take care of various things. We usually watch romantic movies together, and by the time this one was over I remembered why—I missed him. I got to thinking, though, about how we as Christians tend to think of movies as purely worldly pursuits. This one certainly didn’t profess to be spiritual in any way, but it did encourage a worldview that I think we forget to have.

Being the Bible lover that I am, and having just watched a romantic movie, I decided to see what the Bible says about love. I was actually mostly thinking about I John’s succinct statement, “God is love,” and looking for that verse, but in the process I found that there are more statements about love in the Bible than I can count. (You gotta love technology and searchable digital texts!) I put just a few of them below as an example that the Bible pretty clear about the importance of love, and that this isn’t just practical, logical love. This is love that is deep, defies explanation, and involves our whole being.

As I sat down to write this, I got a phone call from someone I met recently who is much more outgoing and demonstrative about her faith than I am. I think God was having a moment of irony with me in that call. I was about to write about the importance of passion, and he took that moment to show me that I don’t really have as much passion as I could, either.

Today’s verse of the day adds some additional perspective for me: “By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.”- Psalm 42:8

God is the source of all our love, and his love is far greater than mine will ever be, and greater than anyone on earth I might compare myself to. Nobody can out-love God.

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Matthew 5:44--But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Matthew 6:24--"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

Matthew 22:37--Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' “

Mark 12:33--To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

John 13:1--[ Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet ] It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

John 13:34--"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Romans 5:5--And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

1 Corinthians 13:8--Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

1 Corinthians 13:13--And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Galatians 5:6--For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Ephesians 3:16-19--I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

1 Thessalonians 3:12--May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

1 Peter 1:8--Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

1 Peter 4:8--Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.