A farmer placed a weather vane inscribed with the words “God is love” on top of his barn. One day a traveler stopped by the farm and watched the weather vane moving with the breeze. Then, with a smirk on his face, he asked, “Do you mean to say that your God is as changeable as the wind?”The farmer shook his head and replied, “No. What I mean to say is that no matter which way the wind blows, God is love!”The statement “God is love” implies much more than that God demonstrates His love regardless of the circumstances. It means that love is the essence of God’s character.God doesn’t just love us. He is love. 1 John 4:7-10 says, “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”We know the New Testament was primarily written in the Greek language. There are different words for love. We all understand the love of a friend, the love of a spouse, and intimate love. But the love of God is the word agape. It is a spiritual love – originating from God, unconditional, selfless, and sacrificial.Love is an attribute of God. Love is a core aspect of God’s character, His Person. God’s love is in no sense in conflict with His holiness, righteousness, justice, or even His wrath. All of God’s attributes are in perfect harmony. Everything God does is loving, just as everything He does is just and right. I believe one of the challenges we face in understanding God’s love is in our response. Some people mistakenly believe that God’s love somehow cancels his holiness. Many people have the idea that when they reach the gates of heaven, God will smile and say, “You don’t deserve it, but aw, come on in anyway.”  Here’s what we know is true: God cannot overlook sin.  He will never contradict his own nature.  In his love he doesn’t overlook our sin, his love compelled him to provide for us a solution to our sin problem.So, what do we do with the love of God? We receive it and we respond to it. His love compels us to receive the gift of salvation and the opportunity for a relationship with God. We respond by loving God in return and learning to love others with this same love.1 John 4:11-12 – “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”Here are some Practical implications….•God’s love will cause us to love the unlovely, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, those different from us, and even our enemies.•God’s love will cause us to have compassion for those who don’t know Him.  It will compel us share our faith, to pray, to give, and to sacrifice.•God’s love will cause us as believers to come together in unity of purpose, vision, and calling.•God’s love will lead us to forgive one another, to overlook offenses, and to yield our personal preferences.John’s argument is simple: if God’s Spirit truly resides in us, His character and attitude should influence us.  We should begin to reflect the love that God Himself has.  In fact, John argues that if we do not begin to reflect God’s love, then we give evidence that we don’t really belong to Him.Today’s Challenge: Let’s respond to the love of God by worshipping him, living for him, obeying him, and loving others. Take a few minute to decide how you will do this today.

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