God is Not Limited like Us

We often think that two characteristics or attributes opposite of each other cannot co-exist in the same being.  This may or may not be true of our finite selves, but God, on the other hand, is infinite.  He can have qualities that seem to oppose each other that serve to reveal Himself more fully.  Even more amazing is the ability of a single attribute of God to contrast with man’s understanding and be revealed in a way to provide a more complete understanding of himself.

One attribute of God’s character mentioned the most by people is his love, and it is often taken out of context.  God is love and loves (Psalm 36:7; 1 John 4:6-8).  How this love has been revealed throughout the Bible is often a point of contention because it is at conflict with how mankind perceives love.

Mankind’s Understanding of Love

We have a tendency to want to make love man-centered around our wants and expectations.  We also often associate love with feelings.  As a people born apart from God, our view of the fullness and truth of love is distorted by our sinful nature.  The Bible goes as far as to say that those who do not know God do not know love and those who do not know love do not know God,

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:7-8 NASB).

That’s quite a divisive statement.  Scripture is saying that if you don’t know God, you can’t love Him or even other people.  That’s not the typical explanation of love that we are given.  How often do people who do not have a relationship or deny God’s existence say that they love their friends and family?  This may seem harsh, but the Bible says it’s impossible to love someone fully when you are apart from God.

Where does love come from?

And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5 NASB).

The above verse is just a portion of the passage in Romans 5, but it reveals a powerful truth: God is the source of all love, and it is by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we are made capable of loving.  That further proves the above point when we say that only those who know God can love.  It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that reveals and enables us to love (Titus 3:5; Romans 8:15-17).  So we can now see that God is love, loves, and is the source of love.

So then we have to ask ourselves, what is biblical love?

One aspect of biblical love includes “doing” and right motivation:

He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him (John 14:21 NASB).

We can see that God has expectations of us in expressing the love he has filled us with.  He expects us to keep His commandments. These include the 10 commandments by which we are no longer made righteous, nor are they just the two “new” commandments to love God and love one another.  The point I want to emphasize here is that there is actual doing to be done, not just saying or feeling.

You wouldn’t tell your family member or friend, “I thought about getting you something for your birthday because I feel like I love you.”  Rather, if you loved them, you would get them something.  Not because it’s expected of you, but rather because you love them and want to do it.

It’s the same with God.  It’s not really “If you love me, you’ll do this…”.  Instead, it’s, “You do this because you love me.”  It stands in stark contrast to what we naturally feel and have been taught.  But the spiritual things of God are not the natural ways of man.  They are wholly better (Isaiah 55:7-9).

Another aspect of biblical love is selflessness and steadfastness:

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

This is yet another inverse of our natural human understanding.  It is in our fallen human nature to oppose and struggle with patience, kindness, jealousy, pride, arrogance, temperament, etc.  I have often witnessed people trying to force their own way onto others “for the other person’s own good.”  God says love is not those things.

Rather, love is selfless and wants the best for other persons, but it must be done with patience and guidance, not by force.  We cannot claim to love someone if we are forcing them to do something against their will.  Instead, we should lead them and pray that they arrive at the place we want them to be, or better yet, the place that God would lead them.

Biblical love is also described as steadfast.  Love endures and remains.  Period.  It is hard to understand such a thing in an age where life is so fast paced and everything is disposable or replaced when it breaks.  Love, however, requires work to be repaired when it has been damaged.  It is not something to be tossed away.  This is especially important for those who have taken vows before God in marriage.

It is the Holy Spirit that enables us to resist and overcome the fallen nature, whereby we are able to display the fruits of the Spirit and remain steadfast in our love for God and others.  (Galatians 5:22-23).

What should we take away from this?

The problem is not with the Bible, the problem is with us.  Our inability to understand concepts like love is the very reason we should read the Bible.  Even then, the Holy Spirit gives a clear understanding of a truth, but we struggle against our sinful natures to act on that same truth.  We must depend wholly on God to complete the work he has started in us (Philippians 1:6).  Biblical love has the right motivation, includes action, is selfless, and is steadfast.  When we learn to love like that, we can truly do as Christ commanded, “…love one another, even as I have loved you…” (John 13:34 NASB).