1st John 4:8. “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” HABITUAL LOVE. If love for God is not habitual it is not true love at all, For God is love by His nature that He imparts to those He calls. The source of life and love is God, and those are passed on to us. Life eternal is the gift of God that we receive when Him we confess. As time passes by, we know more about this new life we have received, Understanding we are new creatures in Christ, when on Him we first believed. Eternal life develops as life we experience, not more life but now we know more, And are now able to experience life with God in ways we could not before.
Accompanying this eternal life is a love that is of God, This comes as the new nature gives us the love of the Lord. Without love there’s no life because these two go together, It is part of what our God and His family share with each other. This love is not funny feelings that quickly come and go, But it is a deep value placed on the One Christians know. If that kind of love is missing that verdict is already in, A person without the love that is of God remains still in his sins.
It is expressed in ways we know only ourselves, Because it is often so personal there is no way to others tell. It is also expressed publicly in love for God and His people, Because those with the love of God know all of us are equal. God is not respecter of persons and neither should we be, We have a nature that loves His people in spite of what we see. Grace, mercy and faith – along with this love in our hearts, Is all of God’s doing when He saved us at the start.
Now it becomes evident around the whole world, Christians have a love from God that is genuine and real. God is love, that affirmation is clearly sustained When we who know the Lord the cross-work proclaim. The voice of the Spirit of God is seen when Christians love Is demonstrated by their walk, and they tell of what they have. May it always be a testimony that men and women can see, The love of God has been shed abroad and we share it abundantly. “Father in heaven, I give thanks to Thee for the love that has been shown to me by Thee – and the love of the Son – and the love of the Spirit. I give thanks that that love is seen in believers all over the world and I have experienced it in many different ways and places. I praise Thee for dispensing such love, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
Our character traits are not all eliminated when God saves us by His grace, but "the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts," and so we love God and other people. God is the source of our love. He chose to love us and send His Son to be the sacrifice for our sin. The Lord Jesus Christ loved us and was willing to leave heaven to be that sacrifice. "The Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." That same love is confirmed in us when we look on others and make choices and take actions that blesses them. We do have love for lost souls around us because we see them as God sees them and there is a value in them that is plain to us that they do not see in themselves. There is also special, mutual love that God's children have for each other. We "love one another" because that kind of love is part of the nature God has given us. God is love Himself. Christ has loved us and "demonstrated that love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Now we love Him and each other.
Real love in God's children is like God. He is holy and says to us, "Be ye holy for I am holy. Our Lord is light, and He said, "Ye are the light of the world." His righteousness is on display through us. He is just, so we are to be fair and just in our dealings with others. None of these characteristics of the divine nature cancels out, nor demeans in any way, the love of God that is shown to us through others, and to others through us. God's love was "manifested" toward us when His "only begotten Son" came to give us eternal life through Him. That love of His is now in us so that we can reflect it for the blessing of those with whom we come in contact.