The Amazing Love of God!

The love of God is not merely something He does; it is who He is. “God is love” (1 John 4:8). From eternity, love has been the very nature and essence of God, and everything He does flows from that love. Scripture reminds us that “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our response to God is always rooted in His prior, initiating love toward us.

The cross is the greatest demonstration of this love. “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Human love struggles to go beyond merit—“very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person” (Romans 5:7)—but God’s love reached us at our worst, not our best. According to 1 John 3:16, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” Love, therefore, is not theory or emotion; it is sacrificial self-giving.

Because we are born of God—“children born not of natural descent… but born of God” (John 1:12–13)—we are wired to love. Love is now our new nature, not something we try to manufacture. John says plainly: “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). Nothing reveals our spiritual identity more clearly than love. It is not a programmed attitude or religious behaviour; it is who we are in Christ.

The apostle Paul reminds us that among all spiritual virtues, love stands supreme: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Faith may move mountains, hope anchors our future, but love reflects God Himself. Even faith, Paul tells us, “works by love” (Galatians 5:6). Without love, faith becomes hollow and powerless.

This is why Jesus reduced the entire law to love. When asked about the greatest commandment, He replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart… and love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–39). When love is rightly ordered—toward God and toward others—obedience flows naturally. Where love rules, obedience is no longer burdensome.

Romans 12:9–21 shows us what this love looks like in practice: sincere, selfless, hospitable, patient in suffering, generous, forgiving, and overcoming evil with good. This is not human effort alone; it is the outworking of God’s love through yielded lives.

One of the most searching questions Jesus ever asked was directed at Peter: “Do you love Me more than these?” (John 21:15). Not, “Do you fear Me?” or “Will you work for Me?” but “Do you love Me?” It is a question that probes deeper than activity—into desire, priority, and devotion. Do you love Him more than ambitions, goals, success, or personal fulfilment?

As we look toward 2026, this question confronts us again:
Do we love God more than anything else?
Are we seeking Him above every other pursuit?

Love is not optional in the Christian life—it is the evidence that we belong to Him. “And this is His commandment: to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another” (1 John 3:23). To live in love is to live in God.

May our lives be living testimonies of the amazing love of God—received, lived, and shared.