The simplest sentence in the Bible nearly broke me when I actually read it: 'God is love.' Not God has love or God gives love. God IS love. Love is God's nature.
I'd been taught God was justice, God was holiness, God was power. Those are true. But the foundation, the essential thing, is love. That means when justice happens, it's Love executing justice. When holiness is upheld, it's Love being holy. When power is wielded, it's Love wielding it.
Something about that order mattering - putting love first instead of last - changed how I approach everything. My theology, my parenting, my friendships, my conflicts. I ask: what does love look like here? Not justice, not rules, not strategy. Love.
I'm a school principal, and we've restructured our discipline policy around this. Instead of punitive measures that shame students, we ask: how does love hold them accountable while restoring them to community? It's slower. It's harder. But the climate of the school is different. Kids feel seen. And when they feel genuinely loved, they want to change.
John puts love first. Everything else flows from that.
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