How does one describe the love of God? Frederick M. Lehman began the hymn, “The Love of God,” this way:

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;

But how does God’s love feel? How does the Creator, eternal God, love? We define love in the context of our personal experience in this earthly life. But, we often have flawed experience.

An old woman gave this theory after the death of her spouse.

Imagine the love that grows between a man and a woman. There was the physical attraction. I liked his face, his eyes, and his smile. I liked his build and the way he carried himself. Then I found out that he was attracted to me and that made him even more attractive.

The dating: I got to know about him. I experienced his personality, his sense of humor, discovered his likes and dislikes. We gave gifts and did things to please one another.

As we spent time together I got to know the real person. We discussed our plans for the future, our joys and deep fears. We fell in love and got married and there was security in that commitment.

I thought I knew love at that time, but over the years we grew even closer. We instinctively knew when the other would laugh and what would make them cry. We thought more of each other than of ourselves. No longer was the physical attraction so important. You know; physical appearance changes as we age. It was the inner person that I loved.

There was acceptance. There was grace when I made a mistake. I was sure of his love, even when I was in a bad mood and not being nice. There were rough times but we stuck it out because of the commitment. The love that grew was something I hadn’t believed was possible. It was a gift from God. It took years to develop and at the end of my husband’s life, even though he was gone, I was left with the presence of his love. I was left with the gift.

Maybe, this love between a husband and wife is a glimpse or a flicker of the love of God. And maybe, this is why God hates divorce. We, so often, give up before love has matured. He wants us to stick it out and to develop that deep love with a spouse because it’s the only way we will have any indication of the depth of God’s love for us.

Jesus Christ displayed his love when he died for us while we were still sinners and worth nothing to him. God gave us everything while we could give nothing back. (Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:4-5)

God sees the heart of an individual. He doesn’t pay attention to the outside appearance but looks at what we often keep hidden and he still loves us. (1 Samuel 16:7)

God gave us eternal life and loved us even before we were able to love him. (1 John 4:9-11)

What can you do?

Names of God Ebook Almighty God. The Creator of heaven and earth. Our God is given names in Scripture that describe the characteristics of His personality.