Our God is…Love

“How much do you love me?” Brenda asked her two-year-old son. Jonah held out his hands about a foot apart and said, “I love you this much.” Paul turned to Jonah’s twin sister and asked her, “Hannah, how much do you love me?” Hannah extended her hands as far apart as they would go. “I love you this much,” she said. Four-year-old Kevin was watching closely. When Brenda and Paul asked him how much he loved them, they expected him to copy the actions of his younger brother and sister. Instead, he spread his arms out in front of him as wide as possible and then curled them down and behind his back until they met. Kevin said, “This is how much I love you, all the way around.” Brenda and Paul looked at each other in amazement. Kevin understood that the greatest love is all-encompassing! If your sweetheart asks you how much you love her on Valentine’s Day, you probably should not just stretch out your arms. You probably shouldn’t even curl them behind your back, unless you have a gift hidden there! Yet, it is in the outstretched arms of Jesus that we know the love God has for us—all of us. Perhaps you have seen pictures of Jesus with his arms spread wide on the cross. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Valentine’s Day is a good day to express your love for the special people in your life. It is also a good time as Christians to remember that “We know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” (1 John 4:16). Join us at church to celebrate more of God’s love.