The Verse: So Loved

John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

We often say things like "I love Pizza, I love hamburgers," and "I love Mississippi State." (Sorry, Ole Miss fans) Then we look at our family members and say, "I love you."

We also hear pastors often say, "God loves you." It is comforting to know this, but it begs the question, "What is love?"

When thinking about God and asking what love is, we often think of 1 John 4:8: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." But how do you describe love?

Paul tells us what love is in his letter to the people of Corinth. He says in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

One thing in common with those verses is the word "Love." We see love described as, "Love is, love does not, and love is not."

It is often said in the church, "If you want to be loving, replace love in these verses and put your name there." Today, let's put God's name in place of love because God is love.

If God is love, then 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 is a description of God's love. These verses show what He is like.

Last week, we discovered who God is. This week, we are discovering what love is. Love is an attribute of God.

God loved the world so much that He gave us Jesus. He also gave us love. The same love that God has is given to us by the Holy Spirit. John says in 1 John 3:1, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him."

This is the love God has for us.