God is love and we love because He first loved us. Looking at what the Bible says about love, we can learn how to love like Jesus. It begins with belief in Jesus as his apostle John tells us:
All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first. ~1 John 4: 15-19
Loving each other is also a command as John goes on to explain in verse 21:
And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.
We love by emulating the love God gives us in the form of Jesus. This Lenten season let’s explore a few of the attributes of God’s love as demonstrated by Jesus. Then apply what we learn to love others the same way.
God’s love is:
Perfect: God is perfect thus His love is perfect. As John explained, as we live in God and share our lives with Him, our love grows more perfect. Loving others as He loves us, perfects our love. Like any action or habit, the more we do it, the more habitual and easier it becomes. Application: Practice makes perfect so remain connected to God and love others. As we do, our love is perfected.
Faithful:
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. ~John 1:14
Faithful is defined as being loyal and constant. Loving others constantly is difficult when we (or others) don’t feel loving. But that never stopped Jesus. Loving isn’t about feelings, it’s about being loyal and faithful to God who loved us first. We love God as we love others. Jesus demonstrated this perfectly as He faithfully loved everyone. Application: Don’t rely on feelings, but faithfulness to God and Jesus as our example.
Eternal; never ends:
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. ~ Lamentations 3:22
God is eternal and so is His love. Just as God’s love is faithful, it also never ends. Jesus displayed this as He loved those around him and us by taking on our sin. His love never ended. Application: Love even when difficult. Always love others, with boundaries if needed, by living with a loving attitude. Ask God for help to never stop loving.
Inseparable:
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. ~Romans 8:38-39
God loves us no matter what. Period. Nothing can separate us from it. Application: As we try to love like Jesus, we call on God who lives within us to help. His ever present love within us provides all we need to share that love with others.
Complete:
And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. ~Ephesians 3:18-19
As Paul explains here, it’s difficult to comprehend how utterly complete God’s love is. But as we trust and believe in Him, our understanding grows. Application: Be thankful and praise God for how completely He loves us and ask Him to provide more understanding as we love others.
Obedient:
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. ~John 15:9-10
Jesus demonstrated His obedience to the Father in all He did, especially loving and dying for us. When we obey God, we remain in His love to then love others. Application: Obedience in loving others demonstrates our love for God and helps us remain in His love. As we are loved, we love.
Sacrificial:
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ~John 3:16
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. ~1 John 4:9-10
There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ~John 15:13
The ultimate demonstration of God’s love was sending Jesus to save us. Jesus explains it-there is no greater love. Application: This Lenten season and every day, let’s remember how much God loves us. Sacrificially love others with this in mind.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. ~1 John 4:11-12
Loving others like God loves us is only enabled through Him. As we look to Jesus, our example of God’s love, we learn how to love like Jesus and bring His love to its full expression in us.