To Know Love

 1 John 4:16


16 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.


We hear this verse a lot.  That God is love.   It makes us feel good, but sadly, I think many of us wrongly apply this beautiful piece of Scripture.


Many of us swap the meaning.  Our minds equate it as love equals God.   We must be careful when we do that, however for then we make love even more powerful than God Himself, but that is not true.


What the Holy Spirit inspired in this verse is this fact, if we want to know what love truly is, we must simply look at God.


Mankind still to this day struggles with what love is.  In fact, Gary  Chapman wrote a book breaking love down into “Five Languages.”  Preachers to this day, maybe even yesterday, taught from the pulpit the different Greek words that were given to love.


For some reason, man has a difficult time understanding what love is.


As Christians though, we must simply look to God.  


He never leaves us nor forsakes us.  He’s slow to wrath, but He is just.  He provides for our needs.  He tells us no when we need to be told no in our life.   He disciplines us when we step out of line, not because it brings Him joy in the act of disciplining but it brings Him joy knowing it’s conforming us into His image.  He gave His life for us.  He communicates to us through the most beautiful love letter ever given.  He reached out to us.


If today, on this Valentine’s Day, you are wondering what true love really is.  Simply look at God.





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