Our God Will See Us ThroughSample

GOD IS LOVE

By Clay Finnesand

A few months ago, I attended a dinner with some friends and family. It was one of those dinners where the friends bring friends… who bring friends. Uh oh. I’m fairly introverted, so small talk is pretty draining for me. Much to my dismay, that evening contained a heavy dose of small talk—having the effect of a small horse tranquilizer.

There was, however, one conversation with a stranger that lifted me right out of my fog because it made me angry.

Before the food even arrived, a man approached me and without any warm-up banter said, “I hear you’re a worship leader. Do you teach the whole counsel of God, or are you at one of those love-of-God-crap churches?”

I was stunned. I thought, Who is this guy? Um, hi my name is Clay; what’s yours? And did I just hear him reduce the love of God to a talking point in an argument?

I wish I could say I responded with Christlike maturity. Or that I at least paused long enough to let the next words out of my mouth be informed by the love of God, the very thing I wanted to defend. Instead, I rambled on and on trying to give myself credibility with this person I’d just met. Then I said something to try to sound theological and make some sort of case for my opinion… But truthfully, what I said didn’t matter much.

I had taken the bait. I was caught off guard, and my tone was rough and disrespectful. Instead of responding to him with curiosity, or with gentleness, I neglected something written in the book of Proverbs: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Fortunately, the Lord met me in my weakness and halfway through our conversation, offered the grace to try again. Thank you, God, for second chances. We all know that more often than not it’s not what we say that’s the issue—it’s how we say it.

Likewise, it's more than just saying we love people—it's how we practice that love with our actions. We know this almost intuitively because the idea of love being an action comes from the author of love himself, and we bear his image. God is love. And we can look at how God showed us that love through his actions. Specifically, we can look at the life of Jesus.

In full representation of the Father’s love, Jesus emptied and humbled himself. He gave himself up for us, once and for all time, even while we were still defined by our sin. Take a moment and let that level of unconditional love sink in. It’s overwhelming.

God is love. He is love in action.

Love is not simply an emotional disposition. When it comes to God, love is not merely an attribute. If there were a special holy dictionary to describe the meaning of the word love, it ought to have only one defining name next to it: Jesus.

With that in mind and hopefully in heart, you and I have some action to take. In fact, the proof that we have received the love of God is in how we give that love to others.

The apostle John wrote about how God’s love goes hand in hand with action. Take some time to read 1 John 4:7–21. Spend some time praying and thinking about what action you can take—action that shows your love for others… the same love you’ve received from your heavenly Father.