What Does the Bible Say About Love?

1 John 4:8–9 (ESV)

8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 

9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

God owns His love. You can't add to it. There is no good thing that you can do to get God to love you anymore and there is nothing that you can do to get God to love you any less because His love is not dependent on you. It depends on Him.

The Bible tells us that God is love. God's love is unconditional.

To help understand the unconditional love of God, just look at what God's love would look like if it was conditional.

If it was conditional, it would be based on something you did to earn it or deserve it. If you could do something or work for God's love, that would make His love conditional.

So what is the unconditional love of God? It's a love that doesn't depend on you. It's a love that depends on God alone. It has nothing to do with you. God's love depends entirely on him.

1 John 4:10 (ESV)

10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

It's not about your love for God; it's about His love for you.

So don't focus on your love for God. Put your focus on His love for you. Your love for God will be a response to His love for you.

When you receive the love that He has for you, you will love Him and others effortlessly.

This seems simple, but don't underestimate its power. It's simple, but it's deep.

Ephesians 3:17–19 (ESV)

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 

18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 

19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

We need to be rooted and grounded in God's love. God's love will keep our souls anchored. We need to keep God's love for us at the forefront of our thinking.

1 Corinthians 13:13 (ESV)

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Love is greater than hope and faith. Why? Because hope and faith can't produce love. However, love can give birth to both hope and faith in your heart.

When your heart is persuaded in the unconditional love of the Father, you are able to have hope and faith in someone who loves you like that.

God's motive is love. Love is the driving force behind everything He does. He does not put bad things on you to teach you lessons. When you see the true God of the Bible, I am convinced that you will want to put your trust in Him. He wants to do good things for you. Jesus came so you could live an abundant life. He died on the cross to be kind to you. He demonstrated His love for you by His death on the cross.

Religion has misrepresented God. It's presented Him as a mean, intolerant bully who is ready to swat you with a giant fly swatter when you make a mistake. Many churches and religions have caused people to feel as if God is mad at them. They feel that God is condemning, harsh, unforgiving, cruel, and judgmental. Although religion has presented Him as such, that is not God's nature. There is something in you that know that God cannot be the way religion has presented Him.

Matthew 7:11 (ESV)

11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

God is our Father and He has good things in store for us. If you are a parent, you want the best for your children. You know within yourself that something is wrong with a Father who is always looking to punish His children for their mistakes. God is not a cruel dictator with a giant fly swatter.

I want you to know that God is not mad at you. He is madly in love with you.