Articles
Do you Have the Character of God?
In first John chapter four we are told twice that God is love (1 John 4: 8, 16). But what is love and how can God be described as Love? When we think about love we can’t help but be influenced by how the world around us defines love. It should not surprise us when we find it difficult to understand who God is when God is defined as love and our concept of love has been corrupted.
When we look at defining a concept it is often helpful to look at other places were that concept is talked about. One of the more famous passages about love is found in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” Understanding the true meaning of love brings us closer to understanding the character of God. True love comes from God and is very different from what the world believes.
In the context of 1 John 4 we also see how God showed His love to us. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4: 9-10)
As Christians we are trying our best to be like God. Jesus himself gave us a command to love each other. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35) Not only do we need to understand love to know God, we need to understand love to be obedient to God’s commands.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love…. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (1 John 4: 7-8,11-12) Only through love will we know God and through our love others will come to know God. ~Brad Tolbert
