This message is the first in a series entitled “God Is Love.” These messages will explore the nature of God’s love and our proper response to Him.

John the apostle gave us succinct definition of God’s nature when he wrote in 1 John 4:8. “…God is love.” Love is not just an aspect of God’s character. Love is the very essence of His being. Nor is God’s love an emotion, an attraction, or a response to a loved one being “lovable” in the way people ordinarily think of love. God’s love is all encompassing, unconditional, and eternally unchanging. God revealed to Moses the characteristics of His love in Exodus 34:6 – “…“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”

God’s love is unexplainable because our limited human capacity for love can’t truly understand God’s boundless love. People fall in and out of love, but God’s love never changes and lasts forever. We give our love to another most often based on the character and behavior of our loved one. If our feelings about them change, we stop loving them. But God loves us regardless of who we are or how we act, and He will always love us just because we are the ones He loves. God extends His love to everyone, and Jesus demonstrated His love for us by sacrificing His own life on the cross in our place. Perhaps the apostle John said it best when he wrote in 1 John 4:8 simply “…God is love.”