Knowing God Series – God Is Love
In our Knowing God series, we will be looking at one beautiful and powerful character of God. From this character flows mercy, patience, and grace toward us. That character is love.
In 1 Corinthians 13, the Bible describes what love is. It says, “Love is patient, love is kind” (1 Corinthians 13:4). It goes on to list the attributes of love—patience, kindness, humility, selflessness, endurance. But when you read this passage aloud and slowly, you begin to realize something profound: this description of love sounds less like a concept and more like a person.
Then the apostle John brings clarity and sums it all up in one sentence:
“God is love” (1 John 4:8).
If God is love, then God is patient.
God is kind.
God is not boastful or proud.
He is not self-seeking or easily angered.
He does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.
He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
God never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4–8).
Love is defined by the standard of who God is. Love is the greatest—because God is the greatest.
The Bible tells us that anyone who truly loves can only do so because God’s Spirit lives within them. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Without God, we do not truly know love.
John 3:16 tells us:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
This shows us that God’s love is selfless. He gives. He sacrifices. He pours Himself out for others. God is the true and perfect definition of love.
But if God is love, why do we sometimes feel neglected?
If God is love, why does His love sometimes feel like discipline or correction?
The Bible answers this too. “The Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His son” (Hebrews 12:6). God’s love does not always feel comfortable, because real love trains us, strengthens us, and matures us. He teaches those He loves to endure, to grow, and to become whole.
So yes, sometimes His love feels close and comforting.
And sometimes His love feels distant or challenging.
But His love is always perfect, and it always desires what is best for us.
God is the only true love we will ever fully know—and His love never fails.
