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God is love. What does it mean for us?
Throughout the Bible, the love of God is mentioned in countless stories, songs, and proverbs as faithful, eternal, and unshakable. Scripture tells us that God is love. It also says He is holy. He is just with righteous anger against evil and sin. But God is also love. And God loves us.
In fact, God’s love is so great that He gave His only Son to pay the price for our sin by enduring death on the cross and rising three days later. This life-transforming knowledge shows the extent of God’s love for the world.
And what does scripture reveal about the nature of God’s love for His children? The famous Bible verse on God’s love, often shared at weddings, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 defines love this way:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour 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.”
It all seems perfectly wonderful, until we try to put it into practice.
Who hasn’t lost patience with their children? Who hasn’t dishonoured their neighbour by gossiping about them? Not self-seeking? Kept no record of wrongs?
Yet God IS love. Perfect love.
As Psalm 103:11-12 says, God’s love for us is as high as the heavens are above the earth. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
If you’re wondering today if you can or ever will be loved, know that God loves you.
And God’s love for us is immense, costly and life-changing. But don’t take our word for it. What does the Bible say about His love? Let’s look together at some Bible verses about God’s love to know Him better and what that means for us.
John 3:16
It’s a famous verse in scripture, sung in Sunday schools, memorised by young people and adults alike.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
If we ever need to see the full demonstration of God’s love, it’s contained in John 3:16.
Salvation is open to all who believe in Jesus Christ. God’s love is for all people, across all cultures. We’re His people the moment we recognise our sin and believe Jesus died for us and rose again from the dead.
God’s love does not discriminate. In fact, as followers of Jesus, we’re called to look beyond our self-interest and love our neighbours as ourselves. Not only the neighbours who look and act like us but our enemies as well.
It is Jesus in Matthew 5:43-45 who says: You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.
Even as Jesus was on the cross, his prayer to our Father God was for his persecutors. “Father, forgive them,” he said. “For they do not know what they are doing.”
John 15:13
At its heart, the love of God isn’t some sentimental emotion. Instead, it’s lifesaving, eternity transforming action.
John 15:13 says: Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
These were Jesus’ words. He was telling his disciples that they were his friends, that he loved them, and would soon die for them. In fact, what he was about to do was much more than that.
Paul reminds us in Romans 5:6-8: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God loves us so much that even while we didn’t know Him, Christ died not only for his disciples but also for us. We were his enemy, yet Christ chose to take on himself the punishment for the sin of the world and offer us eternal life.
1 John 4
Therefore, we are loved beyond our understanding by the source of all love – the God who gave us life. And we’re encouraged to love one another, for love comes from God.
Scripture about God’s love reveals His nature as well as our own. 1 John 4 is full of Bible verses about God’s love and its implication for us.
1 John 4:7-12 says: 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.
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.
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.
Other Bible Verses show God is Love
Here are some more Bible verses about God’s love. We hope they will bring you much joy and peace as you read through them and understand how much God loves you.
Zephaniah 3:17 – God delights in us!
The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.
Philippians 4:6 – We needn’t be anxious about anything because God hears us
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Isaiah 54:10 – God’s love is unfailing and unshakable
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.
1 John 3:1 – God loves us so much we are His children
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Galatians 2:20 – God loves us so much Christ died for us!
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
If you have been encouraged by these Bible verses, you can also visit the following blog posts!
• 28 Thankful Bible Verses to Encourage You
• 40 Inspiring Bible Verses About Love
• ‘Be Still and Know That I Am God’: The Meaning of Psalm 46:10
If you’d like to talk about this blog post and the implication of God’s love in your life, please feel free to contact our friendly team on 01932 836490 or email info@compassionuk.org. We’re here to help and we’d love to pray with you too.
Sources: Bible Gateway
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