Love On: A Study Through 1 Johnنموونە

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”—1 John 4:7-8 (NKJV)

“What is God like?” 

That’s a question humanity has been asking itself from its inception. Whether a person professes to “believe” in God or not, the human soul can’t help but wonder about the concept of a Creator. Even those who blatantly deny there is a God have pondered His reality at some point, only to reject His existence.

Move a little closer to the reality, and we have those who’ve submitted to the evidence all around them. They see the handiwork of a transcendent Creator on display everywhere they look. They see it in the glory of the sunrise, in the thunderous power of the oceans, in the intricate design of the smallest forms of life. Perhaps most profoundly, in the experience of a new life being born into the world. 

It’s clear from all these things that there is a God, and that He’s glorious, powerful, intelligent, and life-giving. But this only scratches at the surface of what He’s like. What’s at the core of His heart? What is He more than anything else? That’s the question that needs answering, because that’s the key that unlocks everything else in life. If we know what God is truly like, then our lives can be calibrated accordingly.

God answered the question for us. He has declared in no uncertain terms, that He is love. Notice, He isn’t just loving. Love is not just an action that He performs. No, He is love. In other words, love is so central to God’s very nature that it resides at the core of His heart and being! There is no way to separate the two; God and love are indivisible!

So what does this mean for us? Again, if we know what defines God, it becomes our life’s priority to calibrate ourselves accordingly. If God was all about war, then we would become a warring and violent people. How wonderful, then, to know that God is love, and that our priority in life is to reflect His character by loving Him and others. This not only reveals who God is, but also shows that we belong to Him. We become God-like by loving like God.  

Don’t let the wonder of this reality escape you; our highest calling is also the most wonderful expression in all the world . . . to love! 

DIG: What’s God like?

DISCOVER: How should God’s nature impact our lives?

DO: What does “love one another” practically look like in your life? Today, pick one person to intentionally show love to.