God’s love and the depths of His love that a person can study are without limit. I’m confident we will be studying the topic of not only His love but all of his attributes for all eternity. Today I want to spend some time discussing 5 components of God’s love. These are tied closely to His divine attributes as God.
- Trusthworthy – His unchanging nature allows for us to trust Him fully.
- Never Tires From Pursuing Us – Knowing God is all-knowing and loving, He pursues those that are His.
- Wise – Through the love letter to mankind, the Bible, we know of God’s unlimited wisdom.
- Merciful & Just – God is able to be just and merciful at the same time.
- Encouarging – Being all-knowing and always present everywhere at all times, God encourages us.
This list is just a sampling of components involved in God’s love, it’s not meant to be exhaustive by any means.
The first area I want to dive into is what I think is the most foundational component to God’s love for us to understand.
The reason is simple, without it, all the rest aren’t really possible to comprehend.
That component is the fact His love is trustworthy.
1. Trusthworthy | God’s Love Has No Limits
Trusting God allows for the Christian to experience one of the most amazing enjoyments on this side of eternity.
For when we trust God, we know confidently that everything in our life is under His sovereign control and rule.
For instance, if we lose a job, have a sudden death in the family, or some other terrible thing happens to us, if we trust God, we can rest in the fact that He is in control and everything is okay. This comfort is Divinely inspired and a result of the peace of God that resides inside of us as we abide in Him.
and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7
This peace of God that surpasses all understanding is a component of God’s love for us. It means no matter what is going on, we know that God is in control and He is looking out for us.
Is God’s Love Without Limit?
God’s love is limitless when we obey His Word and follow His command. The only time a limit is placed on God’s love is when an individual places a limit on it.
To help better understand this, let’s take salvation as an example.
The Bible tells us that God through Jesus Christ died for the entire world.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
John 3:16-17
God’s love through this act of sending Jesus is limitless. It allows for anyone to be saved. Through salvation, we experience not only God’s love, but we place our trust fully in Him.
In the verses following, we see the limit of God’s love put into motion by people, not by God.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 3:18-19
The evil of people limits the love of God in the sense that it limits their ability to accept God’s love for them. His love is limitless, but it’s unbelief that restrains it.
Is God’s Love Constant?
God never changes and is trustworthy. His love in one moment of time is greater for you than any love you could have for another person or a person could have for you in an entire lifetime. The unchanging nature of God makes Him trustworthy and His love constant.
But You are the same,
Psalm 102:27
And Your years will have no end.
2. Never Tires From Pursuing Us | Does God Pursue Us?
Yes, God pursues us and the entire Bible is the story of God’s pursuit of mankind. God desires to be in a relationship with His creation, just as a mother or father desires to be in a relationship with their child. We get the first glimpse of God pursuing us in the garden of Eden, in Genesis 3:8-9.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:8-9
He not only pursues us, but He also desires us to be reconciled to Him. In the passage above, God already knew that Adam and Eve had sinned, yet He was giving them a chance to come to Him.
What Was Jesus’ Purpose For Coming?
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). God’s pursuit of His creation went to the extent of stepping down into humanity and took Him ultimately to the Cross. God’s love for us never tires, and we see that best in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep is a great example of God’s pursuing love over His creation.
4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
Luke 15:4-7
This parable, along with the life and mission of Jesus, shows us how much God loves us and how He will pursue us.
Why Does God Pursue Us?
God pursues us because we are His handiwork. We were made in His image (Genesis 1:27) and we are His.
If you have children, think about how you pursue them.
You desire and do work on their behalf, often without them realizing the work you’re doing for them.
You would do anything for them.
You would even die for them.
While God’s love for us is on a grander scale than our love for our children, it helps us to better understand the motivation behind God.
Sometimes, even with a loving God on our side, we can feel like we’re being punished. This sense of punishment can be unsettling.
Why Do I Feel Punished By God?
Oftentimes when we feel punished by God we are actually feeling conviction and guilt in our souls over a wrong we have committed. When we reap the consequence of the wrong we had sowed, it can feel like punishment.
For instance, if you cheat on your wife and then your life starts falling apart, it might feel like punishment by God, but in reality, it’s a consequence of your action.
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
Galatians 6:7
At other times we can feel as if we did nothing wrong. There’s a great quote from the introduction before the music video ‘Different’ by Micah Tyler where He says something profound.
“The best question is not Jesus can You change these things around me, but instead, God, can You change me so I can handle the things you’re walking me through.”
It’s important that we shift our view of trials and difficulties we encounter, asking God to teach us through the hard times we encounter instead of thinking it’s punishment.
3. Wise | Why Is It Important To Listen To God’s Word?
God’s Word is given to us by God for everything we need in life, giving us exactly what is needed for all doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Having essentially the instruction book for life, we as Christians are wise to not only listen to it but to put it into practice.
God’s Word doesn’t just tell us it’s everything we need for just instruction, but also everything we need in life and for godliness. However, this happens through our knowledge of God.
as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
2 Peter 1:3
Listening to God’s Word is more than just reading words on a page, it’s hearing from God of the Universe who holds the breath of our lives in His hands!
We listen to God’s Word because His wisdom, love, and commands are all in the Bible.
It’s through our keeping of His commands that we show our love for God.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.
1 John 5:2-3
What Will Happen If We Listen To God?
Our lives will be radically transformed if we listen to God and obey His Word. It’s only through our increasing knowledge and understanding of God and who He is according to His Word, that we can have lasting change. For the change will not be that of self-will, but instead the result of God working in us.
Let’s take a look at a few Bible verses about being wise that can be life-changing when applied to our lives.
A fool vents all his feelings,
Proverbs 29:11
But a wise man holds them back.
If you can hold your tongue, not speaking ill when the desire comes over to do so, your life can be changed in a radical way. Relationships are restored, renewed, or saved by holding back a feeling, not letting it vent off the lips.
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
Ephesians 5:15
Not rushing to make decisions, being careful what decision you do make, and being sure you are doing the right thing are all parts of walking circumspectly in life.
When a person is careful in what they do, say, and think, that person lives a much better life as a result.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Proverbs 3:7
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
If a person doesn’t count their own ideas wise, but instead leans on God, fearing Him, and running from everything evil, their life will go well with them.
How come?
Because we are often blind to the real problems we have within ourselves, we need help from others, and most importantly, we need help from God.
It’s through His ultimate wisdom found in the Word that He will guide us in love, instructing us in the ways in which we should go.
4. Just | How Is God Merciful and Just?
It would seem that justice and mercy are incompatible with one another. Since justice is wrongdoing getting deserved punishment and mercy is the pardoning and compassion for the one who did wrong.
God’s mercy and justice work together at the same time seamlessly, we especially see this on the Cross of Calvary. Justice for sin through the blood of Jesus as payment and mercy through that same blood for all people who choose to place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ (learn more about salvation by reading more about salvation here).
All throughout Scripture we see God acting in both merciful and just ways. In Jonah we see Him spare the Ninevites when they repented. Jonah himself was well aware of God’s ability to be merciful.
So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.
Jonah 4:2
God will deliver punishment and consequence through judgment, but first He gives people a chance to do what is right. We see it throughout the history of Israel in the Bible and we see it now in the modern world as He tarries, waiting to return.
Knowing God’s love is knowing that He is just, yet at the same time merciful and full of grace.
David, who was referred to as a man after God’s own heart, states beautifully the reality of God’s slowness to anger as well as His compassion, mercy and goodness.
8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Psalm 145:8–9
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works.
Just as God gave Himself up for us in an act of mercy and justice, we must imitate Him in our lives. He walked in love, and we are to walk in His love all the days of our lives.
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Ephesians 5:1-2
5. Encouraging | How God Encouarges Us
Through the use of the Bible, God encourages His followers in His unyielding love. It’s only through reading the Scripture and seeing God’s work in our lives, that Christians are able to be encouraged.
God’s love is written all throughout the Bible. Here are a few examples of God’s love and providence to encourage your heart.
22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Lamentations 3:22-23
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
Jeremiah in the passage above finds comfort in difficulty in the Lord’s love. Though his circumstances are not ideal, he has clarity on the situation.
Our lives can be this way too when we keep God at the center of our life. As we focus on God each day, He sustains us and reminds us of His work in our life.
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
Deuteronomy 31:6
Yes, this passage was given to the Israelites, but it’s no less true for Christians today.
We are commanded to be strong and to have good courage.
It’s important we remember that courage isn’t possible without fear being present in the situation. Instead of being focused on fear, we are to focus on God, who is always with us wherever we go.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Romans 8:31
Understanding the reality behind the fact that Almighty God, creator of all things and even the universe, is for us is crucial in understanding the depths of His love.
It’s not really something we can fully comprehend, but understanding that God is for us and on our side helps encourage us to live bravely in a world that is scared of almost everything.
Loving in His Way – A Christian Novel about God’s Love
I wrote this story with God’s love in mind. It’s a story about a struggling widow who lost her husband four years ago and a handsome successful businessman who had his wife run out on him. Through their story of meeting and falling in love, we see God’s love show up in a really big way. I won’t spoil it for you, but I recommend you pick it up.
You can learn more about this story by visiting Amazon. Learn More on Amazon.