Some people begin with their own idea of “love” and then say, “That’s what God is like.” They may dip into the Bible, reading their favourite passages. They will not take the trouble and make the time for reading the whole Bible. They say, “Why bother putting a lot of time and effort into studying the Bible. We already know what God is like.” They quote the words, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). What they really mean is, “Love is God.” When the Bible says, “God is love”, it doesn’t encourage us to start from our own idea of “love.” It encourages us to begin with God. We learn of Him as we read His Word. As we learn of His love, we learn that it is a holy love. God’s love is a holy love because God is a holy God. The difference between “love is God” and “God is love” cannot be overemphasized. To say “All you need is love. Love is all you need” is not the same as saying, “We need God.” When we say, “We need God”, we will not say, “all you need is love.” We will say, “We need God’s love and we also need His holiness.” Where do we learn of both God’s love and His holiness? – It’s from His Word that we learn of His holy love. We bow before Him in worship, echoing the words of Isaiah 6:3 – “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord … ” We rejoice in the wonder of His love, giving thanks for the great words of Isaiah 6:7 – “Your sin is forgiven.”
" ... Will you ... come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, We are safe" - safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears My Name become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 7:8-11). “God demands a conversion of the mind and heart as the basis of peace and security (cf. Is 26:3), not the superstitious veneration of a stone building or a traditionally sacred site” ( R K Harrison , Jeremiah ).
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