God is Love, BUT All Love is Not Divine – Greg Albrecht

Love is not merely one of many attributes of God – the Bible clearly defines God as love. Love is the essence of who God is. God is love, he is the perfect, divine, ultimate and eternally pure definition of love.

Divine love is more than an attribute, it is the essence of God, given by him to humans as a gift. Doing good things and behaving in a moral and appropriate way (as defined by human society, culture and/or religion) is not one and the same as God’s love. Good deeds and human virtue do not transform us into becoming like God – good behavior is not one and the same as God’s love.

It misrepresents, distorts and limits God to say or think that what we define as love is God. The word “love” and the broad definitions it is given (imposed on it) by our culture and society is not one and the same as God. Humans have no authorization to define God’s love as it fits their moral perceptions.

The love we see, the love we love – the love that inspires and lifts us, which causes us to soar above earthly pain and heartache, might be entirely from God, or it may be from human origins – so we must be careful not to dogmatically say that love is God.

But, we can say, absolutely, that God is love. Apart from Christ who lives his life in us, we are not, as human beings, a limited or smaller version of God. We are not, apart from God’s grace, capable of producing and creating the love of God. God doesn’t need us to love him, but he takes pleasure in sharing the essence of who he is, producing his very love in us, empowering us by his grace to pass that same love on to others, in thought and action.

God is love and his love is a directional, outgoing dynamic. God’s love eternally exists, without human imperfection or law, expressed within Father, Son and Holy Spirit – his love is then given to us and lived in us through our risen Lord Jesus Christ.

What does God’s love look like – how can we observe the love that Jesus lives out in our lives and the lives of other Christ followers? Here some illustrations and examples that may indicate and point toward God’s love in action:

· God’s love is real, sincere and unadulterated. God’s love is not an act or a religious face or mask we put on.

· God’s love is generous and hospitable. No strings attached. No contracts or stipulations or conditions.

· God’s love is gentle, kind and affectionate.

· God’s love survives all struggles, braves all battles and endures all suffering.

· God’s love binds all wounds, heals all heartaches and bears all insults.

· God’s love shares all things and gives its all to all.

· God’s love cares for all people because all people are God’s creation. No one is beyond or outside of God’s love. No exceptions. He loves everyone – the whole world.

· God’s love believes the best – God’s love springs from faith rather than from worry, doubt and dismay.

God’s love hopes for the best. There is no night so long that it does not eventually give way to a new day, there is no storm so dark and dismal that the sun will not eventually break through and there is no road so difficult that those who travel with Jesus cannot find their way home.

God’s love wants the best and rejoices when good things happen – as opposed to human hatred where grievances and bitterness can desire evil outcomes in the lives of others.

Grace is the focus of the love of God, not sin, bad behavior and failure to “measure up” to some humanly imposed expectation and standard. The dimensions of God’s love far transcend the outrage at sin that Christ-less religion feels which leads it to invent, fabricate and believe in a hell of eternal conscious torment.

God’s love does not deny hellish consequences suffered by humans, but God’s love insists that hell results from the consequences that humans endure because of their actions, or the actions of others.

God’s love says that any painful consequences humans suffer are choices humans have made and endure, whether those choices be their own or some other human who has inflicted suffering on them – but God’s love never condemns or demands pay-back.

No sin, no behavior can separate us from the love of God. God’s love has no limits or boundaries – all are welcome to walk with Jesus in love on the road we might call the Jesus Way. There are no qualifications or conditions – there are no background checks – the love of God is offered freely to one and all. God’s love, of course, is not imposed on anyone, but it is offered freely, by his grace.

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