Session 21
God is LOVE
From The Gospel: Five Words You Need to Know
READ:
• 1 John 4:8
• John 3:16–17
• Romans 8:31–39
“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” —1 John 4:8
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” —Romans 8:38–39
Do you think that just maybe we have reduced love to something that it never was? Seriously, think about the people that you say “I love you” to all the time. Why do you love them? Most of the time (let’s be honest) we love someone because of something in them that attracts us to them—for something they can do for us or satisfy something within ourselves. Think about the people that you try to receive love from. Ever feel like you need to earn it? Has there ever been a time that you have said/done something just to try to impress those around you and get them to like you?
Here is the deal with God. He loves. Period. Moreover, it is not that God simply loves, but He IS love. He is all of it. There was nothing in us to attract the heart of God. On the contrary, everything in us should have repelled Him. Everything in us from birth was sinful, depraved, a mass of corruption with “no good thing” in us. But look at Ephesians 2:3–5:
“All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” THAT is love. We were subjects of God’s anger, enemies of God. And yet, He loved us. He loves us still. And as we have talked about the past few days: His love for us is shown in how He provides for us, how He is faithful to us, how He is good and perfect for us, and how He constantly creates for us and in us. God loves you so much, totally and completely. Because of Christ, there is nothing you can do to earn this love and there is nothing you could ever do to lose it. He loves YOU: not your performance, not your successes, in spite of your failures. Just you.
RESPOND:
Read these verses and write down what they show you about the love of God:
a. 1 John 4:19
b. Jeremiah 31:3
c. Ephesians 1:4–5
d. James 1:17
e. Hebrews 12:6
f. Zephaniah 3:17