The Attributes of God | The Love of God

The Attributes of God Series

There are moments in life when the love of God feels close and undeniable. And then there are other moments when it feels more distant and not so close.

Suffering, disappointment, grief, failure, loneliness, anxiety, unanswered prayers, and the weight of our own sin all cloud our vision. Saved from the penalty of our sins by Christ’s atoning work on the Cross, we still look through sin-stained glasses. During times of trouble, we begin to wonder if God has forgotten us, abandoned us, or withdrawn His affection, even though we know from reading our Bible that this is not true.

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Hebrews 13:5 ESV

Scripture continually reminds us that the love of God is not fragile, temperamental, or dependent upon human performance. Thankfully.

God does not merely possess love as one quality among many.

God is love.

The beloved Apostle John writes:

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:8 ESV

This is one of the most profound truths in all of Scripture. And perhaps, one of the heaviest. Love is not external to God’s nature. It is woven into His very being. Everything God does flows from the perfection of who He is. Love is who He is. On more than one occasion, I’ve had to sit and grapple with that fact because in my humanity, I’m not always readily loving or even easy to love. A friend of mine used to tell me, “How can I love you when I don’t even love myself?”

The Bible and our life experience shows us God’s holiness is loving.
So is His justice, grace, and mercy.
His mercy is loving. Even God’s discipline is loving.

Far too often, we reduce the love of God to sentimentality or mere emotional comfort. Biblical love runs deeper, stronger, and is far more costly than anything we could ever imagine..

The love of God moved Him toward sinners. It moved Him toward us. He had every right to turn away and run in the opposite direction. Yet, He chose to stay.

Not because humanity was worthy or because we earned it. God didn’t love us because we cleaned ourselves up first. No. God loved us despite of ourselves.

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8 ESV

The Cross is the clearest revelation of divine love the world has ever seen.

At Calvary, we see both the holiness of God and the mercy of God meeting together. Sin was not ignored. Justice was not bypassed. Instead, Christ willingly bore the weight of our sin to make reconciliation with God possible.

That is love beyond our human comprehension. It’s a blessing beyond our imagination.

Yet, as believers, we still struggle to truly receive it.

You and I know about God’s love intellectually while we live as though His acceptance must continually be earned. We exhaust ourselves striving for an approval that has already been secured through Christ. We are enough because Jesus is enough!

The love of God is not sustained by our perfection. It is sustained by God’s character.

Human love fluctuates. It’s fickle. People fail us. Relationships fracture. Affection cools. But the love of God is steadfast. Unchanging. Covenant-keeping. Faithful even when we are weak.

The prophet Jeremiah writes:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
‭‭Lamentations 3:22 ESV

Pause and think about that for a moment. His love never ceases.

Not in our wandering.
Not in our grief.
Not in our confusion.
Not in our failures.
Not in our impatient waiting.

The love of God transforms those who encounter it. You can’t meet Jesus and remain the same. God’s love doesn’t ignore our sin. His love calls us out of darkness and into holiness. Grace doesn’t just comfort us, it reshapes us.

The more we grow to understand the love of God, the more we become capable of loving others with humility, patience, mercy, and truth. Over time, our love mirrors His love.

My friend, there is no exhausted soul beyond His compassion and no wounded heart beyond His care.
There is no prodigal beyond His reach, even you.

The love of God is the steady, eternal affection of a holy Father who has fully revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. It’s not shallow optimism.

His love changes everything.

Until next time…

Be salty, stay lit.

Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™

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