Love Has a Source

Human beings are obsessed with love.

We sing about it. We write stories about it. Entire movies are built around it. Our daily attention – our hopes, fears, decisions, and disappointments – are often shaped by the pursuit of love, the beauty of love, or the heartbreak that comes when love is lost or distorted. Few things occupy more mental, emotional, or relational space in the human experience than love.

This obsession is no accident.

Scripture gives us two foundational truths that explain why love holds such power over the human heart. First, God created human beings in His image. Second, God is love.

Not merely that He does love – though He certainly does – but that love is not simply one attribute among many. Love is His very nature. To say, “God is love” (1 John 4:8) is to say that love originates with Him, flows from Him, and finds its definition in Him.

Because we are made in His image, we were created not only with the capacity to love, but with a deep and abiding need for love. We require it as surely as we require oxygen, food, and water. This is why love dominates so much of our thinking, our conversations, and our life decisions. When love is absent – or when we settle for cheap substitutes – the consequences are often devastating.

That deep longing within us was placed there by God Himself. And it was never meant to be satisfied apart from Him.

Outside of a loving relationship with God, life eventually becomes restless, frustrating, and hollow. We may chase love through romantic relationships, family, success, approval, or pleasure, but none of these were designed to bear the full weight of our deepest need. Until our lives are reoriented to God’s original intention, our pursuit of love will leave us exhausted and empty.

But this raises an important question: how are we supposed to love a God who is holy – set apart, different, all-powerful, and beyond our full comprehension?

The prophet Isaiah gives us a glimpse of just how daunting that question is.

In Isaiah chapter 6, Isaiah is given a vision of the Lord seated on His throne. The throne is so massive, so overwhelming, that the train of God’s robe fills the entire temple. Surrounding Him are angels with six wings each. With two wings they fly, but with four of those wings they cover themselves, creating a barrier between themselves and God’s presence.

Even these sinless beings cannot look directly upon Him.

As they circle the throne, they cry out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” The word “holy” literally means separate or different. Repeated three times, the message is unmistakable: God is utterly unlike anything else. Different. Different. Different.

And Isaiah’s response is not curiosity or confidence – it is terror.

“Woe is me!” he cries. “For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” Faced with the holiness of God, Isaiah is immediately aware of his sin, his smallness, and his unworthiness. This is not the posture of someone casually entering a loving relationship. It is the response of a man undone by the reality of who God is.

So the question remains: how does a God like this – holy, transcendent, overwhelming in glory – pursue a sinful people and invite them into a loving relationship? How does He help finite, broken human beings understand His love and His nature?

By coming to us in person.

God did not leave His love as an abstract concept or distant truth. He stepped into history. In Jesus Christ, God’s love took on flesh. John tells us that Jesus is “the Word” – God’s ultimate form of communication to the world. In Christ, the invisible God became visible. The unknowable became knowable. The holy God came near.

Jesus showed us what God is like. He ate with sinners. He touched lepers. He wept with the grieving. He spoke truth with compassion and extended mercy without compromise. Through Jesus, God’s love could be seen, heard, touched, and understood.

That revelation of love ultimately led Jesus to the cross.

“Greater love has no one than this,” Jesus said, “that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). At the cross, love was not merely declared – it was demonstrated. The holy God did not lower His standards to love us; He paid the price Himself.

As we begin this month focused on love, the invitation is simple but profound: pause and reflect on the love God has already shown you. Receive it with gratitude. Allow it to satisfy the deep longing that has driven you to search for fulfillment in all the wrong places.

There is only one true source of love.

And His name is Jesus.

A Closing Prayer

Lord,

You are the source of all true love. Forgive us for seeking fulfillment apart from You. Thank You for revealing Your love through Jesus, who came near so we could know You. Quiet our restless hearts and help us receive Your love with gratitude, trusting that in You our deepest longing is fully satisfied.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

This Week’s Daily Scripture Readings (Monday–Saturday)

Monday: 1 John 4:7–10 – Love originates with God and is revealed through Christ
Tuesday: Genesis 1:26–27 – Created in God’s image, we are made for love
Wednesday: Psalm 63:1–5 – A longing that only God’s love can satisfy
Thursday: Isaiah 6:1–7 – God’s holiness reveals our need for grace
Friday: John 1:1–14 – God’s love made visible in the Word made flesh
Saturday: Romans 5:6–8 – God’s love demonstrated through Christ’s sacrifice

This reflection is part of our ongoing series. To read the full collection and continue walking through this month’s theme, click here.

Jonathan Griffin, Director of Membership Marketing at AMAC | Former pastor & professor | Current husband & father | Redeemed sinner, saved by grace.