Deep in our core, we long for love. When those hopes are crushed—through betrayal, rejection, or heartbreak—the pain can feel devastating. Statistics show that millions struggle with anxiety and depression, often triggered by failed relationships. In fact, studies show that heartbreak activates the same neurological pathways as physical pain.
Most of us have been there—sobbing over love that promised so much but delivered so little.
Yet we keep hoping, keep seeking, because—God designed us for love. Created in His image, we carry an undying desire for it—an innate, God-given need to both give and receive love. This longing is not accidental. God, who IS love—created us in His image—for love. Since we are designed to be loved, in order to give it to others, we need an outside Source to supply us.
It’s impossible to give water from a well that is dry.
Human love, no matter how sincere, falls short—it’s conditional, limited, and tainted by our own desperate need for love. We cannot pour out what we do not first receive. Attempts to love others from “self” lead to exhaustion, resentment, or manipulation. In the end, we resort to demanding from others what only God can provide.
But the Bible gives us profound hope about love. True love finds its perfect embodiment in God Himself, for “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) This divine love has eternally existed within the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—who, from eternity past, have existed in perfect, selfless communion, each delighting in, serving, glorifying, and giving Himself fully to the others in an unending relationship of mutual self-giving. Since they ARE love—unlike us—they CAN give from themselves.
Love, by its very nature as complete unselfishness, requires more than one person: it demands a lover, a beloved, and the bond of selfless devotion between them. A solitary being could not experience love, but the triune God has always been love in action, eternally overflowing in perfect relational harmony without need or lack, revealing that genuine, sacrificial love originates not in isolation but in the plurality of persons who are one God.
How does the Bible describe this extraordinary love of God? The Apostle Paul, inspired by the Spirit, described it vividly in 1 Corinthians 13:
“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
This love is completely unselfish—pure, sacrificial, enduring. It’s not based on feelings or circumstances but on selfless, endless giving. Humanly speaking, this kind of love is absolutely impossible. We are surrounded by our sworn enemies. Our flesh is one of our biggest obstacles to love. Our sinful nature pulls us toward selfishness and self-gratification. Our enemy does not want us to experience the fullness of love—even after we’re born again. He knows that if we do, God’s presence will become our greatest joy!
Paul captures this struggle in Romans 7: “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” (Romans 7:19) Our flesh wars against our desire to love purely. It wants what it wants—it does not care who it hurts to satisfy itself. In the end—it can destroy our sense of the presence of God—and all the love we experience in Him.
Ah, but my friend, there is so much hope for us to experience real love—in the presence of God!
When we accept Jesus as Savior, our soul and spirit are born again. (John 3:3-6) The eternal part of us is made alive in Him. Even though our flesh remains, we do NOT have to let it win. To experience God’s love, we must allow His presence to dominate every corner of our life. We must feed our born again self with consistent prayer, Scripture, worship, fellowship, and obedience, so His loving presence dominates our lives and subdues the flesh.
The more we develop the mind and attitudes of Christ, the more we experience the fullness of His love!
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” 1 John 4:7
Love doesn’t EVER start with us—it begins with God.
When we abide in Him through loving obedience, His love flows through us:
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” John 15:10
We become rooted and grounded in Christ’s love, able “to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19
God’s presence transforms everything we know about love.
Instead of seeking others to fill our emotional “love cup,” God’s endless love overflows from within—like a river that never runs dry. We love from fullness, not neediness. The richest human relationships—marriage, friendship, tribe, family—are those where imperfect people love each other with God’s love.
If love has disappointed or wounded you, turn that same passion toward seeking God’s presence. Seek Him earnestly. He will never fail you. Only God, the Author and Giver of true love, can fully heal a broken heart and fill you so that you can truly experience giving love without wondering if you will ever have it returned. God is love. In His presence, we enter the experience of the greatest love.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that You are love—pure, unchanging, and perfect. Forgive me for seeking fulfillment in human relationships alone, and for the ways my flesh has made my love selfish or conditional. Renew my spirit today. Fill me with Your presence so that Your love dominates my heart and subdues my flesh. Help me to abide in You through obedience and worship, that I might love others as You love me—patiently, kindly, without envy or pride. Heal every wound from failed love, and satisfy my deepest longings with Your endless love. May my well overflow with Your love so I can give freely to others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
