As God's called-out ones, we should have a far more mature understanding of real love, which is God's love. This love is not an abstract concept but is shown through the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son, where the Father loves the Son, and the Son reciprocates that love back to the Father. This mutual love, existing even when there was nothing else in the universe, is the foundation of all that follows. God's love is outgoing, an expression of concern toward others, and it is best manifested in relationships rather than in isolation. God's plan is an outworking of His love, designed to share this love with billions of beings whom He would call His children, adopting them from humanity to become His sons. This love expressed itself in the creation of angels, matter, and ultimately Adam and Eve, all done as acts of outgoing concern to provide for those He intended to bring into His Family. Every action of God, from the design of His master plan to the creation of the physical world, is rooted in His love, moving from words to deeds. The love of God further manifested in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, foreordained before the foundation of the world to redeem mankind from sin. Even before humanity existed, God and the Word planned this act of love, designating the death of the Creator as the payment for human sin. This profound love was demonstrated while we were yet sinners, as Christ died for us, covering even the most wicked among humanity if they accept and repent. His sacrifice, made nearly 2,000 years ago, remains efficacious for our redemption, showing that God had us in mind long before we took a single breath. God's love is not distant but personal and intimate, poured abundantly into our hearts through His Spirit upon our calling and justification. This love works from the inside out, transforming us into the image of His Son. Once rooted and grounded in God's love, we begin to comprehend the vast dimensions of Christ's love—its length, depth, width, and height—ultimately producing the fullness of God within us. This transformation is the goal of our Christian life, to express God's love eternally as He does. The love of God is central to our growth in righteous character, linked inseparably with love toward our neighbor. These two facets are not separate but interconnected, forming the foundation of God's way of life. Loving God must come first as the greatest commandment, but it must manifest in love toward others, imitating God's impartial concern for all, even enemies. Our love for others serves as a gauge of our love for God, revealing the depth of our commitment through actions like feeding, clothing, visiting, and caring for our brethren. When we practice real godly love for one another, we reflect the perfect character of the Father and Christ, showing that His love is being perfected in us.

The love of God is the true essence of what the world desperately needs, a love that brings peace, harmony, joy, happiness, fulfillment, purpose, and brotherly affection to all mankind. This love, defined as agape, reflects God's willful direction toward humanity, always seeking what is best for us, even when it differs from our desires. As John 3:16 reveals, God so loved the world that He gave His Son as a sacrifice, not to fulfill human wants, but to meet our deepest need for justification and reconciliation with Him upon repentance. God's love is characterized by benevolence, a disposition to do good, marked by kindness, sympathy, and generosity in individual dealings, while His overarching plan is philanthropic on the grandest scale, aiming to elevate mankind into the Kingdom of God. This love originates from God Himself, reflecting His Spirit in us, and as we exhibit it, we take on the nature of our Father. Those who reflect this love show they are born of Him, while those who do not, regardless of their knowledge, fail to truly know God. The proof of God's love is evident in the world He has provided, where rain falls on the just and unjust alike, in His patience toward us, and most profoundly, in sending His Son as a sacrifice to reconcile us to Him. Even when we were ignorant of His ways and opposed to Him, He loved us and desired the best for us. As I John 3:16 states, we perceive God's love because He laid down His life for us, and in like manner, we are called to lay down our lives for the brethren, perfecting His love in us through active application toward others. Jesus taught in John 13:35 that love for one another identifies His disciples, serving as a sign of belonging to God, just as keeping the Sabbath does. Perfect love casts out fear, and as we grow in it, we take on His nature, gaining boldness to stand before Him. We love Him because He first loved us, and this love is not ours but God's love working through us, urging us to love our fellow man as the Father and Son love us. The greatest commandment, as Jesus declared, is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, submitting every faculty to His will and devoting ourselves to glorify Him by being like Him in all we do. The first four commandments show direct love to God, requiring us to honor Him above all else, rid ourselves of idols, represent His name with honor in every aspect of life, and keep the Sabbath as holy time to rest, study, and encourage one another. The second great commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves, extends this love to all around us—family, friends, countrymen, and even enemies—by seeking their good, refraining from harm, and showing kindness, even when their actions do not warrant it. True love of God produces a desire to live His way, embracing His commandments not as burdens but as essential boundaries that train us to become like Him. Obedience to His Word, as John states, perfects His love in us, establishing an intimate relationship with Jesus and the Father, leading toward becoming members of the God Family. If true love exists in the heart, it will be reflected in our way of living, demonstrating that we belong to Him through our outgoing concern for others. Above all, we are to put on godly love, forgiving as we have been forgiven by Christ, uniting all aspects of God's calling and opening His mind for us to emulate.

The love of God is an astounding and mind-boggling truth that reveals how deeply He values us. In Jesus' prayer, He asks that we might understand and know that we are loved by God to the same degree as He loves Christ Himself. This equality in love, signified by the word "as," means no more and no less, affirming that God loves each of His disciples just as much as He loves His Son. This is a profound reality that can be hard to fathom, yet it stands as a testament to His boundless affection for us. God demonstrates His love through the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, who died for us while we were yet sinners, proving His commitment to our redemption. This act of love is not only a general gesture but is made personal as He specifically calls and chooses each of us, dragging us to Christ despite our resistance, and granting us repentance through His Spirit. His love enables us to keep His commandments, a gift freely given out of His deep care for us, not because it is owed. Furthermore, God's love assures us that He will never withhold what we need for our salvation. Having given His most beloved Son, the hardest act of love, He willingly provides everything else necessary for our journey to His Kingdom. This love is unwavering, even in trials, as He designs circumstances to refine us, ensuring that nothing beyond our capability arises, always remaining the God who is there. In the face of end-time challenges, faith in God's love becomes crucial. Jesus warns that when iniquity abounds, love can grow cold, leading us to compromise and falter. Yet, enduring in this love, believing that God truly cares for us despite appearances, is what will sustain us. His love, shed abroad in our hearts, empowers us to return love to Him through submission and obedience, and to extend it to others, enduring trials and tribulations if we hold fast to this belief. Even in the most difficult trials, God's love manifests as a gift, shaping us into something far better. Like Job, who emerged stronger through immense loss, we are refined by challenges that God sovereignly designs, knowing they are good for our ultimate growth. His omniscience ensures He is aware of every detail of our lives, never abandoning us, always providing grace and shielding us as needed, with the promise that no good thing will be withheld from those who walk uprightly with Him.