Loved to Love: Rooted in Love

Introduction

When we talk about being rooted, we think of roots. And with roots, we think of a base, a foundation. To build a solid house, you need a solid foundation. It is the same for your life: to build a solid life, you have to rest it on something solid, on a solid foundation.

Go back for a moment to elementary school, to what you were taught when conjugating verbs. Take the verb "to have": "I have, you have, he has." Then the verb "to be": "I am, you are, he is." With the verb "to have," you speak about what you possess. With the verb "to be," you speak about who you are, about your identity. To understand what love truly is, you first have to understand this identity. And that is where 1 John 4:7-8 changes everything.

Outline of the article

1. God is love: a verb that changes everything

John writes: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love" (1 John 4:7-8).

Notice: John does not simply say that "God loves." He says that God is love. That verb "to be" completely changes the perspective. If God had love the way you have a feeling, he could stop loving at any moment. But God is love, so he cannot stop loving. God's love is not a feeling, it is his identity.

We, on the other hand, talk about love as a sensation: butterflies in the stomach, a feeling that rises and falls. Emotions are like a roller coaster: one day you feel loved, the next you feel alone. When you think of love with the verb "to have," you assume God works the same way: close one day, distant the next. But God is not like that. He loves you, not because you are lovable, not because you deserve it, not because you have done something good: he loves you because he is. Period.

2. Moses and the burning bush: "I am" is presence

Think of Moses before the burning bush. He feels incapable, and he asks God: "What am I supposed to say when they ask me your name?" God answers: "I am who I am" (Exodus 3:14).

In plain terms, God is telling him: "I will be present with you, for you, wherever you go." Because love is presence. When you feel small, do not worry, I will be with you. When you feel incapable, I will help you. The God of love is present for you, whatever happens, wherever you go, even when you think you do not deserve it. Even if you must walk through "the valley of the shadow of death," he is there (Psalm 23). God's love is not earned, not deserved: it is received.

3. Love has a face: Jesus Christ

Maybe you have already asked yourself: what shape does this love have? What color? We picture it as red, shaped like a heart. No. Love has a face and a name: Jesus Christ. John writes it in verse 9: "This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him" (1 John 4:9).

God did not settle for telling you that he loves you. He did something concrete: he showed it to you. If you want to learn how to love, look at Jesus. In the world, we search for love all around us, but we never truly find it: it is not solid, it collapses. What never collapses is the love that comes from Jesus Christ.

4. Jesus' "I am" statements: your identity and your need

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes powerful declarations that begin with "I am." These are not only revelations about who he is: they are revelations about how he loves you.

• "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35): because there is a deep need inside you, and only he can truly satisfy it.
• "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12): when you feel confused, disoriented, he comes to bring clarity.
• "I am the door" (John 10:9): come to him, enter through him, remain in him, and you will find true peace there.
• "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11): you need to be cared for, protected, and he takes care of you.
• "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25): whatever has gone out inside you, the dreams you no longer dare to dream, he comes to bring them back to life. Time belongs to God, not to you. Let him have the final word.
• "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6): he is your guide. Do not walk ahead of him, walk behind him, follow him.
• "I am the true vine" (John 15:1): remain in him, because in the true vine flows the sap of true love. You are a branch: that sap passes through you to reach others. They can see Jesus through you.

5. The cross: a love that does not just speak, but gives itself

Jesus did not limit himself to writing a love note on a piece of paper. Through the cross, he perfectly described what God's love is: a love that does not settle for speaking, but gives itself. A love that comes, that is present, and that lays itself down. "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (John 15:13). This is where God encourages you to look closely, to grasp the greatness of this love, so that you can show it to others. "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19).

6. John, his head on the chest of Jesus

John describes himself in his Gospel as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." That is not arrogance: it is that he had understood just how loved he was. The highest understanding you can have is not measuring how much you love Jesus, but grasping how much God loves you. Loving Jesus comes after.

At the Last Supper, John leans his head against Jesus' chest (John 13:23). His heart is troubled: that night, they were talking about death, betrayal, abandonment. The disciples were about to find themselves alone. John does not say a word, he makes a single gesture: he leans against that heart full of love. As if he were saying: "I want to stay here, in your love, Jesus, because this is where I find security, calm, peace. Whatever happens around me, I trust you because you are faithful, you love me, and this is where I want to rest." When John rested against the chest of Jesus, fear disappeared, because he was resting in love.

7. "I am" stronger than 600 soldiers

That same night, a cohort of soldiers comes to arrest Jesus. Around 600 men against a single man. Jesus takes a step forward, and it speaks volumes: he gives himself up to show you the perfect love that gives itself away. He could have wiped out that whole troop with a single word, with a single "I am." In fact, when he steps forward and says, "It is I," they draw back and fall to the ground (John 18:4-6). God's power and authority are on display, but with immense humility: he shows love, and he gives himself. "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (John 13:1).

Key takeaways

• God does not have love, God is love. So he cannot stop loving you. His love is not a fluctuating feeling, it is his identity.
• Love is presence. As with Moses, God tells you: "I will be with you." Even in the darkest valley, you are not alone.
• Love has a face: Jesus. Do not look for solid love in the world, it collapses. Look to Jesus, to his cross, to his "I am" statements.
• You can only love if "I am" lives in you. You cannot "have" love to give if Christ does not dwell in you. It is he who loves through you.
• Rest your head on his heart. Like John, when everything around you feels troubled, do not say a word: lean against the chest of Jesus. That is where fear leaves.

Personal application

Here are a few questions to bring before God this week:

• Do I think of God's love with the verb "to have" (a sensation, a mood) or with the verb "to be" (God's identity)?
• What lie am I believing today: "I do not deserve to be loved by God"?
• In what area of my life do I need to remember that "I am" of Jesus is enough for me (bread, light, door, shepherd, resurrection, way, vine)?
• Where am I looking for love in the world even though it collapses, instead of receiving it from Christ?
• Am I letting the sap of the true vine flow through me to reach others, or am I keeping it to myself?

Verses cited

• 1 John 4:7-8 · God is love.
• 1 John 4:9 · Love shown in Jesus.
• 1 John 4:19 · We love because he first loved us.
• Exodus 3:14 · "I am who I am."
• Psalm 23 · The valley of the shadow of death.
• John 6:35 · I am the bread of life.
• John 8:12 · I am the light of the world.
• John 10:9,11 · I am the door, I am the good shepherd.
• John 11:25 · I am the resurrection and the life.
• John 13:1 · He loved them to the end.
• John 13:23 · John leaning against the chest of Jesus.
• John 14:6 · I am the way, the truth and the life.
• John 15:1 · I am the true vine.
• John 15:13 · Laying down one's life for one's friends.
• John 18:4-6 · "It is I" and the cohort falls to the ground.

FAQ

Why say that God is love, rather than that he simply loves?

Because the verb "to be" points to his identity, not a passing state. If he "had" love the way you have a feeling, he could stop loving. But love is what God is. That is why your bad day, your failure, or your sense of being far from him do not change his love for you.

How can I actually receive this love when I feel unworthy?

By taking a step of faith, like John simply resting his head against the chest of Jesus. You do not deserve this love, no one does: it is received. Tell God, "Help me grasp the height, the depth and the breadth of your love." And let Christ, the "I am," dwell in you.

How do I know if I am loving others with God's true love?

Look at the source. You can only "have" love to give if "I am" lives in you. If you are grafted into the true vine, the sap of Jesus' love flows through you and reaches others. They see Jesus, not because you are perfect, but because you have remained in him.