Series: What I Believe
At the core of my faith journey is my belief that God is wholly and perfectly love.
I will not attempt to “prove” that God is love. It is impossible for a created being like me to know enough to measure God’s love or to assess how adequately God expresses that love. However, all my experiences and all my thoughts as a follower of God support my belief that God is the perfect manifestation of selfless love, that God loves each of us individually, and that God does not love any one of us more than the other, or love any one of us less.
I am incapable of understanding God, and that means sometimes I cannot understand why God would allow some events to take place. In those times when I have been hurt, I have felt that God’s love was still with me, even when God didn’t take those hurts away. I believe God’s love has always at work in my life, even though I am usually too dense to notice, and even at those times when I tried to lead God in following my plans.
I don’t understand what perfect love means; I am too imperfect, I am too selfish, and I am too much a captive of my personality and my culture. God knows that, and God lovingly accepts my flaws and weaknesses as part of God’s perfect love in my life. I may not be able to explain love, and I may misunderstand love, but I will sing about God’s love with all that I am, holding tight to the promise that, in due time, God’s love will escort me home.
Why This Matters:
Because God is love, I can be certain God is always active in my life. When we feel apathetic, we distance ourselves from situations, but when we feel loving, we engage. God’s love is more than merely a human emotion; God’s love is a deliberate choice, a divine purpose, and an unstoppable force that surrounds and infuses every created thing. I can’t see or comprehend how God is at work, but my inability to fathom God does not limit God in the slightest.
Because God is love, God is always bringing about what is best for me, encouraging my development as one of God’s creations in the ways that I need. Sometimes wonderful things happen in my life, and sometimes challenges disrupt and shake me, and in every situation, I trust that God is using these situations for my good.
Because God is love, I must consider that every person I meet is a beloved creation of God’s, just like I am. God’s love does not tolerate an “us versus them” attitude, nor does God’s love honor any of the classifications or labels we apply to other people. National boundaries are of no interest to God. Human biases are an anathema to God, who sees the deepest reaches in each person’s soul and loves each one perfectly.
Because God is love, my highest purpose in life must be to live out God’s love.
JM