LOVE:
The Heart of God's Character
# LOVE: The Heart of God’s Character
“By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.” — 1 John 4:9-10 (WEB)
Love stands as the central attribute of God’s nature. Not merely one trait among many, love forms the essence of who God is. As Scripture boldly declares, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). This isn’t just poetic language; it’s the fundamental reality that shapes every aspect of our relationship with our Creator. But what kind of love is God’s love? In a world where love is often conditional, fickle, or self-serving, God’s love stands apart as something altogether different. His love is perfect, unfailing, and transformative.
A Biblical Portrait:
Hosea and Gomer Perhaps no biblical story captures the radical nature of God’s love so powerfully than the account of the prophet Hosea and his wife Gomer. God instructed Hosea to marry Gomer, a woman who would prove unfaithful. After bearing Hosea’s children, Gomer repeatedly abandoned her family to pursue other lovers. Yet God’s command to Hosea was stunning: “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel” (Hosea 3:1).
Hosea found Gomer destitute, possibly being sold as a slave, and bought her back. He spoke these remarkable words to her: “You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the prostitute, and you shall not be with any other man. I will also be so toward you” (Hosea 3:3).
This painful human drama serves as a living metaphor of God’s relationship with Israel, who “committed adultery” against God by repeatedly turning to idols. Despite their consistent unfaithfulness, God continued to pursue them with relentless love.
We hear God’s heartbreak in Hosea 11:8-9:
“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?... My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.”
What does this story reveal about God’s love?
**It is persistent** God’s love pursues even when rejected
**It is redemptive** God is willing to pay the price to restore the relationship:
**It is healing** God offered restoration rather than condemnation.
**It is transformative** God’s love changed the identity of the beloved from rejected to cherished. The love demonstrated in Hosea is not a passive sentiment but an active, pursuing force that refuses to abandon the beloved despite every reason to do so.
What If?
What if you’ve experienced rejection in your deepest relationships?
Perhaps, like Gomer, you’ve sought value and validation in all the wrong places. Or maybe, like Israel, you’ve turned to other gods; success, approval, comfort, control. Maybe, hoping they would fulfill what only true love can provide.
*What if, in your darkest moment of feeling unloved or unworthy, God is actually pursuing you with the same persistent love He showed through Hosea?
*What if those inexplicable moments of peace, those unexpected kindnesses from others, or that persistent thought that you matter deeply are actually glimpses of His pursuing love?
Consider where in your story God might be showing up like Hosea, saying “I will not give up on you.”
Where might He be working to buy you back from whatever holds you captive?
His love doesn’t wait for you to clean up your act or find your way home. His love comes looking for you, right where you are. Even when you feel most unlovable, perhaps especially then, God’s love remains unwavering. The question isn’t whether God loves you; it’s whether you’ll recognize and receive the love that has been pursuing you all along.
The Ultimate Demonstration
While Hosea’s story powerfully illustrates God’s love, it merely foreshadows the ultimate demonstration: Christ on the cross.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Like Hosea paying the price to redeem Gomer, Jesus paid the ultimate price to redeem us. This wasn’t a reluctant sacrifice, but the fullest expression of God’s heart toward humanity. This is love unlike anything the world offers.
A love that:
- Initiates relationship rather than waiting for us to make the first move
- Sacrifices rather than demands
- Transforms our identity from rejected to cherished
- Creates value rather than requiring it
Living in God’s Love:
God’s love isn’t just a theological concept to understand, it’s a reality to experience and a power to be transformed by. When we grasp how deeply and persistently we are loved, it changes everything:
1. It frees us from the exhausting pursuit of earning love and acceptance.
2. It empowers us to extend this same unconditional love to others.
3. It gives us courage to be honest about our struggles, knowing love doesn’t depend on our performance.
4. It anchors us in storms of doubt and difficulty.
The journey of faith isn’t about trying harder to earn God’s love.
1. It’s about opening ourselves to receive the love that has been pursuing us all along.
2. It’s about allowing God’s love to heal the wounded places in us that keep us running to lesser loves for fulfillment.
As you reflect on God’s character of love today,
consider:
1. Where might God be pursuing you with His relentless love?
2. What areas of your heart have you kept closed to God’s love?
3. How might God’s love change how you see yourself?
4. How might it change how you love others?
God’s love isn’t waiting for you to become worthy of it. Like Hosea searching the streets for Gomer.
His love is actively seeking you.
NOT TO CONDEMN YOU, BUT TO BRING YOU HOME.