The Depths of God's Love

Can we understand how much He loves us?

1 John 4:10-11,19

This is Love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love one another...We love Him, because He first loved us.

Of all the world’s languages, English may be the most lacking when it comes to the word, love. Sanskrit has 96 words for love; ancient Persian has 80. There are 11 words for ‘love’ in Arabic, with each conveying a different stage in a relationship or the falling in love process. The Greek language has three words for love. English has only one.

We say, “I love you” the same way and with the same word as saying, “I love pizza” or “I love my dog” or “I love to travel.”

The word ‘love’ is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, but scholars admit the exact number of times varies by version. For example:

• In the King James Version, love is mentioned 310 times

• In the New American Standard Version, love is mentioned 348 times

• In the New International Version, it is mentioned 551 times

I suspect part of the discrepancy comes from the four different types of love discussed in the Bible and only one word for the English translation:

• Storge – the feeling of familiarity and love towards family

• Philia – the love felt in the bonds between friends

• Eros – the strong romantic feeling for your spouse.

• Agape – the greatest love we can have for another.

Agape is the term that defines God's immeasurable, incomparable love for humankind. Agape love isn’t sentimental and doesn’t arise from emotions, feelings, familiarity, or attraction, but from the will. Agape love is the outpouring of who He is.

As said in 1 John 4:8 - God Is Love.

His divine love, agape love, is the highest form of love. It is everlasting and given freely, without judgment. There’s nothing we can do to deserve it or earn it. 

A discussion about love must include what is arguably the most well-known verse in the Bible.

John 3: 16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His One and Only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

This is the essence of our relationship with Jesus. This is the foundation of Christianity and is core to the Gospel.

Jesus freed humanity as he was mocked, spat upon, and beaten. God gave up His only son to be the ultimate sacrifice...to atone for our sins once and for all. Emphasizing how important it is for humanity to live in love, Jesus summarized His entire message in just two commands: Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.  

Is this something you actively choose to live by? Do you practice love in everything you do? If we live and walk in love in everything we do - from pulling weeds to peeling potatoes - God will be there. He is ever-present. His agape love is forever.

Today’s Prayer

Dear Lord, we can only imagine with the smallest part of our being the magnitude of the Agape Love You have for us. We compare Your love to Eros, the love we feel for our spouse and our kids. We can’t begin to comprehend the true depth and meaning of Your Agape love.

We are so blessed to be Your chosen ones, called by Your name. Your promises are not delivered when we die. We immediately become Your children and members of the Kingdom of Heaven, through the blood of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit, while we remain right here on earth.

Help us to feel Your divine love, if only a glimpse of it. We love You in the only ways that we know how.... Accept our words, our prayers, and our gratitude. You are the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. Thank You. In Jesus’s name, Amen.