Loving Like God

Love is probably the most common attribute people ascribe to God. Our culture is trying to tell us that God is love, even that He is more love than anything else. But is that true? It is fairly easy to consider our love as an extension of God’s love, and accept the idea that by loving others we are showing them God, but in order to give God’s love, to love like God, we have to know what God’s love is really like. Assumptions are dangerous.

1 John 4:7-10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

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. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Many people try to elevate God’s love above His other attributes, but that causes a conflict when considering God’s wrath against sin. If God is all loving, how can He hate or punish anything? The answer is that God is first of all holy. Therefore, His love is a holy love which means He cannot love sin or anything bad and so must punish sin. Yet, His love is also gracious and merciful, which is why He sent His Son to die for our sins, to bear our punishment, so that we could experience His love.

Proverbs 3:11-12 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord
Or loathe His reproof,
For whom the Lord loves He reproves,
Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

God’s love is never wrong, lenient, or harmful. As a good parent, His love sometimes involves discipline. True, godly, holy love does not over look sin, but desires the best for the recipient which sometimes requires dealing with the consequences of sin in order to learn obedience. Discipline is actually a more true form of love than spoiling because it puts the overall good of the recipient first, rather than pacifying or giving something which could be harmful. It teaches the right way rather than allowing them to go the wrong way which will lead to greater harm and destruction.

1 Corinthians 11:31-32 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.

If we did not receive God’s discipline and correction it would be a sign that He did not love us, that we are not His children. We have a choice; to receive His discipline and correction now, or eternal condemnation later. That is where we see the greater truth of His love. He disciplines us to keep us from being lost.

So if we are to love like God, then we need to look at what is overall best for the person we are loving. To ignore a friend’s sin may maintain a good relationship with them, but it will harm them spiritually and maybe even physically later on. It would be more loving to go to them, out of a desire to help them (not accusingly but lovingly.) The greater desire to maintain the relationship instead of pointing out sin is really love for self, maintaining what is good for self instead of them. What good is it to have a good friend in this life if we lose them for eternity?

John 15:13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

This is the greatest example of love, but laying down our lives can have many different meanings. Godly love is never selfish or self serving, but puts others first and prefers to do what is best for them even at the cost of self. Real love sacrifices the desires, wants, even needs of self for the sake of another. This shows in everything; in our thoughts, attitudes, and desires so that it then comes out in our words and actions. First Corinthians 13 actions are the result of a heart full of godly love. We cannot love in action if our hearts are not right.

We need first to get right with God. We need to repent of our selfishness, of our wrong actions and ask Him to forgive us. When we are right with God, His love will fill our hearts and we will then be able to give His love.

Are you loving in a godly way? What do you need to do to change that?