When John proclaims the theme of love, he tells us
something about the nature of God when he says, “God is love.” John does not
say that love is God. If that were the
case everyone who loved would be a god.
When John
wrote the words “God is love,” he was
writing about a concept that was new to the ancient world. Never would the people of pagan religions
have declared that their god was a god of love.
They would have declared that their god was to be feared. Study
comparative religions such as Buddhism and Islam and see what they have to say
about love.
Now, let
me hasten to say that a great deal of what we call love is really not love at
all. A man says that he loves a girl and
insists that she marry him. She refuses
so he takes a gun and shoots her and states, “I did this because I loved
her.” That is not love!! That is selfishness. Oftentimes a young man will say to a young
lady, “If you really love me you will be immoral with me.” That is not love; that is lust. When the Bible says that God is love, it
means that He loves me no matter what!
One day,
C. H. Spurgeon was walking through the English countryside with a friend. As they strolled along, Spurgeon noticed a
barn with a weather vane on its roof. At
the top of the vane were these words, “God is love.”
Spurgeon
remarked to his friend that he thought this was a rather inappropriate place
for such a message. “Weather vanes
change,” he said, “but God’s love is constant.”
What to do:
✞ Have each family member tell one way that God is love.
