What are your thoughts on this week’s QOTW? – “What does it mean that God is love?” Comment by ceseeley To me, so far in this Christian Walk by Faith, God loves us so much that He communicates the knowledge of Him through His Creation of the Universe and Everything that Jesus is Preparing for us in the Future to give us Hope to the possible reality of Eternal Life!!! Comment by Karl Frank It would have been wonderful if your article had explained that there are various Greek words for love, with completely different meanings and then gave the Greek word for love in your example. I love the blue sky and I love my wife are two completely different love meanings. Keep up the great work and G_d bless! Karl Comment by Michael James Stone It’s deeper than the casual answer because everyone uses scriptures that describe Love, or God’s love, or even circumstances of love, sometimes even feelings of love. But the definable statement God is Love, if it thought thru is tough. Because it is said so, One must look at all of God’s actions as “from” a love perspective if God is love and that means you better have a handle on Philosophy to apply that reality to God in how to appreciate mans being dealt with in drastic measures. Can Love Kill? If God talking to Abraham is an indicator, Uh oh….. The Western idea of love is often misleading because it won’t address those scriptural examples of Love. And you say, What examples? those are about other things. When you can define How he can Love in those circumstances and still do them, then i think You have a handle on God is Love. I spent years to prove to myself that ALL of the Scriptures in every occasion was true to this simple fact: For those who say How Can a God of Love? the question isn’t that. (cheap answer on the last, but you have to apply in each circumstance for yourself how God did what he did and still be Love.) You can find it, but He has to show it. Comment by Edith Jane 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Is one of my favorites, it never fails to make me feel like I’ve just been hugged by God or sitting with Jesus and looking into His loving eyes! I’ve often prayed for a dream of Jesus, I’ve had a few in my life but this verse just lays a heavenly blanket over you! I say QOTW did good on this, expressing God’s love is a hard thing to do… our minds are so limited to His endless love! I LOVE YOU GOD MY SAVIOR THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, COME SOON!!!! Comment by Edith Jane whoops *this scripture Comment by Richard Broch Shalom to all, Allow me to focus in on one aspect of God`s love which I think is pretty important. KEY THOUGHT = In His love to believers, He gives us what we NEED, not always what we WANT. Are we sometimes the same way with our desires? God knows what we need, or don`t need, and gives us accordingly, regardless of what we want. Grace and Peace. Comment by Edith Jane Karl Frank #2, Comment by Debbie I think that God’s love which is absolute (never relative) and perfect has to be closely tied to His absolute holiness and righteousness. Without understanding the wrath of God it is impossible to grasp the love of God. By witholding His righteous wrath and judgment against sin and by giving us a God-man to sacrifice as the penalty for sin, He discloses He is love. Even the most valiant love in humankind, like a man throwing himself on a grenade to save his friends, is not a premeditated act of sacrifice. So, I guess I would say God is love because of His sacrificial nature? Comment by alvin I am glad that God is agape(love). Comment by rani The question states……. “What does it mean that God is love?”. Comment by ceseeley Edith Jane and All; I find your comment #7 very intriguing because it seems to be so indicative of you and your husband striving to do God’s Will in your lives. Tell me, does saving the word “love” for God, Jesus and each other, help the both of you not to love the world nor the things that are in the world? 1Jo 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Jhn 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Jam 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 1Jo 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Comment by rs God’s Love is more than we can fully comprehend.When God created us He knew we would fail.In an act of His will, He chose to love us enough to allow us to reject Him totally, but still was willing to sacrifice His Son so that His love for His creation could be seen by all.What we see in the persecution of Christ(physically) is the heart of man towards God(spiritually). Through all of that God still remains true to His intent…Love that which He made and has shown us that He is still willing to accept us through His sacrifice, Jesus Christ.He has forgiven much because He loves much.This is where we see the example that we’re to become like in the process of being conformed into the image of His Son.He loves us enough that He wants us to be like Him…that’s REAL love. Comment by Edith Jane Ceseeley, So in short, yes it has strayed me from the world and the things of it! Thank you for helping me realize what a tool God has made out of my show of love for Him and my husband. haha Comment by Mimi “What does it mean that God is love?” John 3:16 (King James Version) 16For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Jesus took on human form and became man out of LOVE. HE did so willingly, because of LOVE for US!! I think that it is really important to personalized HIS LOVE. We aren’t just one person among everyone else, we are HIS and HE knows us by name. That is LOVE, a very personal LOVE. He came into our World, a world full of SIN and HE chose to suffer along side of US & feel our pain. HE chose to suffer, so HE could show us that we are never alone in our suffering. THEN as if all of this wasn’t enough, Jesus willingly suffered a horrible death for US. A death that HE could see ahead of time & yet, HE still said “YES”. Now if that isn’t LOVE, I don’t know what is? For Christ giving up HIS life for US, is the greatest act of LOVE that anyone has ever know. John 15:13 (King James Version) 1Jo 4:9 — In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 1 John 4:8 (King James Version) Comment by ceseeley Edith Jane, your Comment #13 was just Spiritually Beautiful!!! Comment by Edith Jane Thank you!
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Can Love slaughter thousands?
Can Love take a people for centuries and use them as He chooses?
Are they?
God is Love.
Love then did those, or from a perspective of his nature: Love, He did those.
God is Love.
How can God who is Love do what he did.
How?
He is God.
It`s the same way we deal with our children, grandchildren, etc..
They might want unlimited sweets, dangerous past-times, unwise financial demands, cultish interests, etc..
They just don`t know better often-times. But we do, and try to keep them from harm. Why? Because we LOVE them.
God knows all things, including what`s best for His children. So, how do we react when we ask him, and don`t receive?
Tight-jaw? Pout? Ask-why not, God?
And, you know what? He doesn`t have to tell us why……..
because of the fact that the english language is limited on the word love and it’s meaning my husband and I do not say “I love this or I love that” we leave “LOVE” for Christ Jesus our God and each other. I agree in the article it should be “Agape” in place of “love”
I agree with Karl. (Agape) is much different than (philos) The command in Scripture to “love your enemies” does not mean the same thing as loving your friends. The (agape) love of God is more of a mental attitude free of ill-will, anger or bitterness (JOHN 3:16) while the (philos) love for friends would indicate a soul mate type of relationship. (1SAM 18:1); “As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”
MARANATHA
The article responds by saying something like, “no, He is not love, but love is one of His attributes”. Perhaps John meant the same thing when he wrote,
” The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
But i feel that John had the knowledge that God is Love(God Love is)…….not only that Love was one of His characteristics (ie what is God like?).
So, if God is Love, then Love is God. If i am in the presence of Love, then i am in the presence of God, and if i am in the presence of God then i am in the presence of Love! And i want to be present there!
Now the question is….what is the meaning of the verb ‘to love’? i think we want to know. but what do i know?
I never thought of that… When I first started out saying “love” only to God, Jesus and my husband I did it out of love and respect, looking back now I see how God used this to turn me from the world and the things of it. I’m not saying that I don’t sometimes put the TV before my Bible reading time (Forgive me Father ) but it truly has pushed me further away from the world and closer Christ. My husband says it has made him feel truly loved. I yearned to show God, Jesus, and my husband that I give my heart and self to them… even in the small ways. I believe this is a small example of what Christ was saying when he said “Love each other as I have loved you.” I encourage couples to try this, when my husband tells me he loves me I feel like it’s not just him who said but Christ too! And through this I know my husband has a love for me that only God and I understand. The world does not know true love. AGAPE can only come from God!
13Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
1Jo 4:10 — Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.
8He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
GotQuestions: ““What does it mean that God is love?”
