Dec 29, 2025 5 min read christmas

What Does It Mean That God Is Love?

In a world filled with endless distractions and competing desires, understanding what it truly means that "God is love" can feel overwhelming. Yet this fundamental truth about God's character offers us the most profound hope and direction for our lives.

Today's article is based on the sermon given at Five Mile Church of the Nazarene on December 21, 2025. View this sermon and other resources here.

What Is Not God's Love?

Before we can understand what God's love is, we need to recognize what it isn't. In 1 John 2:15, we're told not to love the world or the things in the world. This doesn't mean we should hate creation, but rather that we shouldn't confuse worldly desires with true love.

The Difference Between Love and Desire

When Scripture speaks of "loving" the world, it's really talking about desire - specifically, three types:

Desires of the flesh - our craving for physical comfort and indulgence
Desires of the eyes - our attraction to what we see, including our screen-obsessed culture
Pride of life - our pursuit of wealth, status, and material security

These desires all stem from one root: fear. We turn to worldly things because we're afraid that God won't be enough, that something won't work out for us.

How Does God Show Love Through Presence?

God's love isn't merely emotional affection - it's demonstrated through presence. Throughout Scripture, we see God choosing to be with His people, especially in their most difficult moments.

God's Presence in the Wilderness

The desert experiences in Scripture reveal something profound about God's character:

In Exodus, God remained present with the Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness, even when they made idols out of fear. He fed them daily and gave them rest weekly.

With Elijah, God provided through ravens and multiplied a widow's flour. When Elijah fled in fear, God revealed Himself not in earthquakes or fire, but in the gentle whisper - showing that God had been present all along.

In Isaiah's prophecy, Emmanuel comes even when the land becomes desert, when everything familiar is stripped away.

What Does Perfect Love Look Like?

Perfect or complete love, as described in 1 John 4, has two key characteristics:

We Love One Another

This goes beyond feelings to actual presence and action in each other's lives.

We Become Like Jesus in the World

The incarnation gives us a template for how to live. Jesus shows us what it looks like when God lives at our level, present with us no matter what.

Why Did God Choose to Come to Us?

The incarnation reveals something essential about God's character: if God truly loves us, He cannot remain distant from us. A God who created everything and loves His creation would naturally want to be with that creation.

This isn't about having a "superhero God" who swoops in to fix everything. Instead, we have Emmanuel - God with us - who chooses to be present in our struggles, our deserts, our ordinary moments.

How Can We Experience This Perfect Love?

Redirecting Our Attention

The key is where we place our attention. Instead of turning to worldly comforts when we're afraid, we can turn to God through three ancient practices:

Prayer - Setting aside daily time to be with God, trusting that He is enough to carry us through whatever the day brings.

Fasting - Temporarily giving up something we think we need (like food) to replace it with time with God, proving to ourselves that God sustains us.

Sabbath - Dedicating a full day to being present with God, trusting that the world's demands can wait while we focus on our relationship with Him.

What Does This Mean for Daily Life?

God's love isn't just a theological concept - it's meant to transform how we live. When we truly understand that God's love is demonstrated through presence, we begin to love others the same way.

Real love moves beyond saying "I love you" to getting on the floor with a child, being fully present with a spouse, or showing up consistently for our community. This is how God loves us, and it's how we're called to love others.

Life Application

This week, challenge yourself to practice presence as an expression of love. Choose one of the three spiritual disciplines - prayer, fasting, or Sabbath - and commit to it for seven days. Notice how redirecting your attention from worldly comforts to God changes your ability to be present with others.

Ask yourself these questions:

Where do I turn when I'm afraid or anxious - to God or to worldly comforts?
How can I demonstrate love through presence rather than just words this week?
What would it look like for me to trust that God is enough to sustain me through whatever challenges I face?
In what ways am I storing up treasures in heaven versus treasures on earth?

Remember, we don't have to wait for some future moment to experience God's perfect love. As the body of Christ, we get to practice this love every single day, being present to God and present to each other in a world that desperately needs to experience Emmanuel - God with us.

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