We often hear people say something along the lines of, ‘I love God, I don’t need a book to tell me how to love Him,’ whenever they are confronted with how they live their lives. Others will say, ‘God isn’t a God of love,’ as they paint Him as a dictator. The real question here, in both instances, is ‘What is love?’ or better yet, ‘How do you love God?‘
In today’s world, we have two main versions of God:
These are usually the two versions of God that we either are raised to believe in or discover later on in life. But are either of these two versions the real version of God? Who exactly is God? Is God a dictator? Is God good? Can God be both our judge and our savior? Is God really love?
More Verses on What Love Is
16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
John 3:16-18
43 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 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 8:35-39
Summary
God isn’t a malicious dictator just waiting for us to mess up so He can send us to Hell. God is a God of patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control; why? Because God is love. He took your place on the cross so that one day you would have the chance to repent and be saved. You don’t have to repent. You don’t have to accept His offering. He left the decision up to you because He freely and willingly chose you out of love; now He wants you to willingly and freely choose Him back.