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We have defined the word wonder in the following manner:  “inquisitive awe in the pursuit of an understanding of all of the perfections of the excellent majesty of God.”   The wonder of God involves the study of all of His perfections.  The Bible affirms that God is love (I John 4:8,16).  To know God is to have everlasting life (I John 5:20).  To know God is to love.  He that loveth not, knoweth not God for God is love!  If we do not love, we do not have everlasting life!  Love is the essential element of the Christian life.  Let’s explore what it means to say that God is love.  In doing so, we will learn what it means to love as a virtue of our own hearts as followers of Jesus Christ.  We are in a pursuit of the breath, length, depth and height of the love of Christ (Eph. 3:14-21).   There is no greater pursuit of the human mind and heart than to know God.
Love is an Intrinsic Virtue of the Nature of God
“He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love” (I John 4:8). “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.  God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (I John 4:16).  Love is a perfection of the very nature of God.  Love is not all that God is.  God is also, holy, light, spirit, just, righteous, merciful, etc.  God is the sum of all of His perfections.  To say that God is love is to say that God: (1) Seeks the highest good of His creature, man.  God’s love is undefeatable, benevolent, goodwill.  God loves unconditionally as a free act of His own nature.  His love is directed toward human beings who are the only creatures who need salvation from sin and its consequences.  His love seeks the highest good of human beings by bestowing His grace freely to them in order to redeem them from iniquity.  (2) God’s love is relational.  God is a person. His love is directed toward other members of the Godhead, His Son and the Holy Spirit who are also persons) and human beings created in His image with the ability to love as a free act of their own wills.  God loves the human beings He created and desires that they be in covenant relationship with Him and receive the blessings and promises that only He can bestow upon them.  (3) God’s love is personal.  God desires to be a personal relationship with each human being.  This relationship is based upon the covenant God has given to man under different historic periods.  Three different historic periods are discernible in Bible history:  Patriarchal, Mosaical, and Christian.  We are living today under the Christian Age which is ruled by the law of Christ (Rom. 8:1-2).  God relates to us by providing the means for us to be in fellowship with Him.  This fellowship is predicated upon our love for Him (John 14:23, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him”).  (4) God’s love is unconditional.  It is not dependent upon who we are or what we have done.  God loves human beings because He is a God of love.  It is who God is.  (5) God’s love is beneficial.  God acts in our best interest for our greatest good!  God gave the best of heaven (John 3:16) in order that we can live the spiritually optimal life now and have eternal life in the world to come (John 10:10).  God truly wants the best for us.  If we do not possess all spiritual blessings, it is not God’s fault.  It is our fault for not reciprocating God’s love (we fail to love God back).  (6) God’s love is compelling.  God’s love comes before our love for Him (I John 4:19, “We love him, because He first loved us”).  We manifest our love for God by keeping His commandments (John 14:13; 14:23).  The cross is the love story of the Bible.  By studying this story, we come to know the love of God.  We learn of its sacrificial nature.  In turn, we must present our bodies as living sacrifices to Him (Rom. 12:1,2).
God’s Love and Our Salvation
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10).  God’s love is a wonder not only because of its scope (He loved all human beings), but because of the intensity of it (He loved us while we were yet sinners).  “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).  God loved us when we were unlovable (not worthy of His love).  God’s love acts in our best interest even though we are unworthy of it.  Our redemption is dependent upon God’s love.  God’s love faces sin in us and sees the value of redeeming us.  God’s love is made known thr0ugh the unspeakable gift of His Son–Jesus Christ.  The gift makes God’s love: undeniable, selfless, sacrificial, and undefeatable.  God’s love overcomes the forces of evil and prevails.  It is powerful and accomplishes the purpose or aim for which it is unleashed–the salvation of the human soul.  However, we must respond to God’s love by loving God back.  We have two choices as we face God’s love.  The first is to reject it.  When we reject God’s love, we also reject eternal life.  To know God is to have eternal life.  To know God is to love Him.  If we do not love Him, we do not know Him and we do not have eternal life!  When we fail to love God, we also deny ourselves an entrance into heaven.  Our love for God must be supreme (Matthew 22:36-39).  To love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind is the first and greatest commandment.  If we fail to get this right, we will perish eternally.  Our obedience to God’s commandments is evidence of our love (John 14:15).  The second response to God’s love is to receive it and reciprocate it.  Love for God involves more than lip service.  It involves acts of compliance with God’s laws that demonstrate it.  Love and obedience are interconnected just like trust and obedience are connected.  Jesus is the author of eternal salvation unto all those that obey Him (Heb. 5:8-9).
The Depth of God’s Love
We know the depth of God’s love by what it cost Him.  It cost Him His Son (John 3:16; Eph. 4:25).  Jesus gave His life to redeem us for the eternal consequences of sin (Rom. 6:23).  We know the depth of God’s love by how little we deserve it.  We are unworthy.  But, God loves us anyway.  We know the depth of God’s love by the greatness of the spiritual benefits and blessings He gives us.  All spiritual blessing are in Christ (Eph. 1:3).  God holds nothing back!  God’s supply of grace toward us is unending (John 1:16).  We know the depth of God’s love by the freedom by which it is manifested.  God’s love is free act of His eternal will.  In John 10:18, Jesus indicated His love as a free act when He said regarding His life, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.  I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again.  This commandment have I received of my Father.”  No one took Jesus’ life from Him.  He freely gave it and secured our spiritual freedom from the servitude of sin.
God is love!  Behold it and wonder!  Let it fill your heart with awe.  Be grateful for God’s love.  Love God back with all of your heart, soul and mind.  Remember, that to know God is to have everlasting life.  To know God is to love God.  If we do not love Him, we do not know Him and we do not have everlasting life!  Failure to love God will cause our soul to perish eternally.