What kind of love are you made for?
I joined the Atlanta City Fellows Program to explore the nature of God's love. I argued that God has made all of us to enjoy intimacy in the context of family.
How do we know that? Because God is a being who enjoys intimacy in the context of family, and He created us in His image for those same things.
Christians have consistently described the love found in the Trinity and between Christ and His Church in six ways: God's love is diverse, intimate, life-giving, faithful, sacrificial, and hospitable.
First, God’s love is complementary/diverse (Matt 19:3-12, Mark 10:2-12, Gen 1:26-27, Rev 7:9). There is a different-ness between the persons of the Trinity and between Christ and His Church.
Second, God’s love is intimate (1 John 4:7-8,19, John 17:20, Matthew 3:16-17). The persons of the Trinity know each other perfectly, and Christ intimately knows and loves each of us!
Third, God’s love is procreative/life-giving (Gen 1:28, John 10:10). God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit made the world, filled it with animals, and made us humans, together. And then God became man and Jesus lived and died for us so that we could have life.
Fourth, the love of God is faithful/permanent (Isa 54:6-8, Hos 3:1, Lamentations 3:22-23). There is a perfect and permanent faithfulness in the Trinity and from Christ to His people. No matter what we do, God will never abandon us or withhold his love.
Fifth, the love of God is sacrificial (Eph 5:23, Gal 6:2, Romans 5:6-8). As we’ve already mentioned, Jesus offered himself up as a perfect sacrifice so that all of God’s children could return to Him.
And finally, the love of God is hospitable (Luke 14, Leviticus 19). Ultimately, the work of creating this world and humans to fill it was an invitation into God’s family. And then God extended His arms of invitation again by dying on the cross so we could be reunited with Him.
Why does this matter? Because we were created in God’s image, we were created for this same kind of intimacy in the context of family. We are all made for diverse, intimate, life-giving relationships that are marked by faithfulness, sacrifice, and hospitality.
Both vocational singleness and Christian marriage (1) embody these six aspects of God's love, (2) help us understand the mystery of God’s love, and (3) preview the perfect intimacy we will have with God and each other in the New Heavens and the New Earth.
What do you think? Do these describe God's love well? Do you feel like you're made for this kind of love? Do your relationships embody love in these ways?
