"God Is Love"

The Bible says something about love that it never says about Jehovah's other cardinal attributes. The Scriptures do not say that God is power or that God is justice or even that God is wisdom. He possesses those qualities, is the ultimate source of them, and is beyond comparison in regard to all three. About the fourth attribute, though, something more profound is said: "God is love." (1John 4:8) What does that mean?

"God is love" is not a simple equation, as if to say, "God equals love." We cannot rightly reverse the statement and say that "love is God." Jehovah is much more than an abstract quality. He is a person with a wide array of feelings and characteristics in addition to love. Yet, love runs very deep in Jehovah. One reference work thus says regarding this verse: "God's essence or nature is love." Generally, we might think of it this way: Jehovah's power enables him to act. His justice and his wisdom guide the way he acts. But Jehovah's love motivates him to act. And his love is always present in the way he uses his other attributes.

It is often said that Jehovah is the very personification of love. Hence, if we want to learn about principled love, we must learn about Jehovah. Of course, we may see this beautiful quality in humans as well. But why is it there? At the time of creation, Jehovah spoke these words, evidently to his Son: "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness." (Genesis 1:26) Of all the creatures on this earth, only men and women can choose to love and thus imitate their heavenly Father. Recall that Jehovah used various creatures to symbolize his cardinal attributes. Yet, Jehovah chose his highest earthly creation, man, as the symbol of His dominant quality, love. -Ezekiel 1:10.

When we love in an unselfish, principled way, we are reflecting Jehovah's dominant quality. It is just as the apostle John wrote: "As for us, we love, because he first loved us." (1John 4:19) But in what ways has Jehovah loved us first?

Next time: Jehovah Took The Initiative

Draw Close To Jehovah, 2002