The Attributes of GodSample

Day 5
Loving

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
– 1 John 4:16a (NLT)

The Bible teaches us that God is good. He’s holy. He’s all-powerful. He knows everything. He’s eternal. He’s everywhere. He created everything. Thinking about all these things at once makes us realize how big God is and how small we are in comparison.

God is great. We are not. We don’t know everything. We certainly aren’t all-powerful or able to be everywhere at once. Even though we can be good, we’re not very good at being good. God created us in His image, but He gave us the choice to choose how to live. And we all choose our way over His.

But in God’s goodness, He loves us. He loves us more than we could ever know. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, God loves you. And He loves you with all the vastness and greatness of who He is.

There is an old song, “The Love of God” by Frederick M. Lehman, that beautifully describes the love of God. It says that if the ocean were filled with ink, and if the sky were made of paper, and every person decided to pick up a pen and write about the love of God, it would drain the ocean dry, and the whole sky wouldn’t be able to hold all the words about how much God loves us. That’s quite a picture! But it describes how big and how endless God’s love is.

The Bible calls God’s love “unfailing.” That means it will never let us down. The Bible also says, “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.” (1 John 4:16 NLT)

In our human relationships, even the people who love us the most sometimes let us down. We let down the people we love, too. But God’s love is perfect. He will never let you down, and He will never stop loving you. God cares about you. He listens to your prayers. He will help and guide you, and all the good things in your life are gifts from Him. God understands your emotions. He watches over you and protects you. Even when it doesn’t feel like it, God loves you and is at work in your life.

God does all these things for us, but there is one amazing, incredible, fantastic way that God has proven His love for us once and for all. He sent Jesus. The most famous verse in the whole Bible is John 3:16: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus proves God’s love for you and me like nothing else could.

Reflect: Do I believe God loves me just the way I am?

Read: 1 John 4:7-19

These are not the only attributes of God worth studying! As you read the Bible, look out for what it is communicating about who God is. Beyond being loving, holy, all-powerful, all-knowing, and eternal, He is also good, faithful, unchanging, glorious, and more. Knowing and understanding more about God and His character is the adventure of a lifetime!