Good morning, and a blessed Thursday to you.

Would you please open your Bibles with me to 1 John, chapter 4? This portion of God’s Word is incredibly instructive regarding the nature of God’s love. From it, I’d like to share three key points with you today.

Let’s begin at 1 John 4:7:

"Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love."

Here is our first point:
God is love.
At the very core of His being, God is love. It is not simply that God shows love or expresses love—He is love.

Now for the second point:
God has loved.
Let’s continue in verse 9:

"God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In 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."

This is such a powerful truth. Not only is God love, but He has loved us. And notice the direction—it is God who comes to us. He initiates. He sends His Son.

What did Jesus do?
He became the atoning sacrifice for our sins. That’s such an important word: atonement. Break it down—at-one-ment. On the cross, Jesus shed His blood and bore our sin. Through His death, reconciliation was made. Our relationship with God was restored.

So far, we have:

1. God is love.

2. God has loved.

Now, for the third point, I want to share a brief story:

A little girl was talking with her father, thinking about God.
She said, “Daddy, God is huge, right?”
The father replied, “Yes, absolutely. God is very big. He’s everywhere.”
The girl paused, deep in thought.
Then she asked, “And Jesus lives in my heart, right?”
Her father smiled and said, “Yes, that’s right. Jesus lives in your heart.”
She thought for a moment longer and said, “Well, if God is so big, and He lives in my heart, shouldn’t He show?”

That little girl was onto something. And that leads us to our third point:
God continues to love—through us.

Let’s read verses 11 and 12:

"Beloved, since God loved us so much, 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 perfected in us."

That word perfected means that His love reaches its goal—it is brought to completion—as He loves through us.

So here are the three truths about God's love:

1. God is love.

2. God has loved.

3. God continues to love—through us.

So, who is it today that God wants to love through you?

Let us pray.
Gracious Heavenly Father,
We thank You for this time in Your Word. Your Word is truth.
We praise You for Your incredible, unchanging love.
And we thank You that You choose to love through us.
In Jesus’ strong and holy name we pray. Amen.

God bless you today. Go and encourage someone.