In today’s culture, messages about love are everywhere—from Disney’s fairy-tale endings to the music industry’s millions of love songs and Hollywood’s endless romantic love stories. We are inundated by a love that has been reduced to mere feelings, self-fulfillment, and personal happiness. But from a biblical worldview, love is something truer and far greater, rooted in God’s nature, defined by His Word, and ordered according to His design.

Know the Truth About Love

At best, culture’s messages fall short of true love; at worst, these messages are flat-out lies. But who would want to lie about love? And why would anyone want to lie about love?

Satan, the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), the ruler of this world (John 14:30), our adversary (1 Peter 5:8), the thief (John 10:10), the father of lies (John 8:44), the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9), in part, lies about love so that we will long for lesser loves.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  ~ 1 John 4:7-8

God is not only our Creator, He is love’s Creator. He authored it and gives it freely. Love is from God.

But God is not only love’s Creator, He is love Himself. God is love. By nature, love is who He is. Love isn’t just a word used to characterize God, love is His very essence, which makes Him the greatest of all loves! Everything but our God is a lesser love. Everything!

The deep longing within us to be loved and to love was placed there by God. But Satan is a great sower of doubt. He convinces us that God is not enough, that He is not undoubtedly for us, and that His love cannot truly satisfy our hearts. Believing his lie about love, we give in to doubt and we search for love in all the wrong places, chasing counterfeits that can never fulfill us.

It is imperative that we see culture’s lesser messages for what they are, know God’s truth about love, and pass this truth on to the next generation.

And that begins with a good and right, biblical ordering of love.

He Loves Us

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. ~ 1 John 4:10
We love because he first loved us.  ~ 1 John 4:19

First comes God’s love. If you know and love the Lord; if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, it is because He first loved you, not because you first loved Him.

He has set His affection on us. If we want to love well, we must know and believe this truth. Our God’s love is real; His love is sure; His love is perfect; and His love is the very foundation on which our love is built.

Since God’s love for us is where it begins, spend some time this week sitting in His love. If you are a parent, spend some time this week with your children sitting in His love. Below you will find some verses and a family activity to help you ponder His great love.

May the Lord convince you and your children that He loves you!

Verses + Family Activity

• Romans 8:35-39
• Ephesians 2:4-5
• Isaiah 54:10
• 1 John 4:9-10
• Lamentations 3:22-23
• Romans 5:1-8
• 1 John 3:1a
• Psalm 136
  Family Activity:
  Make this Psalm personal. Omit verses 10-25 as you read it, and write your own verses together, declaring ways our God has shown steadfast love to you and your family!