1 John 4:16 reads in part, “God is love.” That is to say, love defines his very nature such as no other attribute does. While God is good and righteous and merciful, the Scriptures don’t say that God is goodness or that he is righteousness or that he is mercy. But that God is love? Yes.

So what does it mean?  Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 13 — that great love chapter in the Bible — only let’s substitute God in for the word love in verses 4-6. Doing that I think gives us some precious insights in God’s nature. Here it is:

• God is patient,
• God is kind.
• God does not envy,
• He is not boastful,
• He is not arrogant,
• He is not rude,
• He is not self-seeking,
• He is not irritable,
• and He does not keep a record of wrongs.
• God finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth.