He's The Real Deal

We are told in the Bible that God is love - Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. I John 4:8 (NIV)

It's not that He is just loving or lovely, or even lovable...but He IS love. It is the essence of His being. If He was not love, then He would cease to be. Take a minute and try to wrap your head around that.

I was thinking about I Corinthians 13:4-8. Most of us are familiar with this passage, which describes what real love is like (I even have a framed print with these verses in my den). It occurred to me that since God is love, we should be able paraphrase these verses by substituting God for love. Let's read it that way to see if we can learn something about His nature:

God is patient and kind. God does not envy or boast, God is not proud. God is not rude, self-seeking, or easily angered. God keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. God always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. God never fails.

Our Father wants us to know Him. Not just know about Him, but to really know Him. For when we really know Him, then we will begin to understand the depths of His love for us. Only then can we truly trust Him enough to fully place our faith in Him.