The Gift of God's Love

By Nobuko Del Valle

Mercer County, New Jersey

Content Warning: The following devotional contains a brief reference to suicide. 

Scripture:

• 1 John 4:8-10

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 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. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

While we have many adjectives to describe God, there are very few nouns in the Bible used to capture the identity of God. This is what makes 1 John 4 such a powerful scripture. In the verse above, the noun “love” is written as if it is not just a description, but the essence of God. It’s as if John wants us to understand that the very makeup and composition of God is love. 

I’ve never been able to imagine what the face of God looks like or how the body of God is sewn together. But if I could picture them, I think I would see love animating every fiber and nerve ending of His being just like His breath of life animates mine. When I hold that image long enough in my mind, I come away with the conclusion that for God to act outside of love is for Him to act outside of His identity. Love is who He is. To put it simply: the gift of God’s love is the gift of Him. 

How comforting yet challenging of a thought this is! To be disciples of Jesus and children of God, we are to have faith that everything God does originates from a place of love. From the decision to create Adam and Eve from dirt to expelling them out of the garden, all was made in love. From rescuing the Israelites from Egypt to exiling them to their oppressors, all was led in love. From 400 years of silence to the arrival of Jesus, all was thought in love. From the crucifixion to the resurrection of Jesus, all was willed out of love.

You cannot separate love from God. Yet when we read through the Bible, we witness trauma, poverty, betrayal, and abandonment. How does love allow that? We don’t even have to pull the pages back to thousands of years ago. The horror on the news or even the losses seared on our lives tell us enough. How does love exist in that? Sure love is a gift of God. Sure love is the identity of God. But why does love often feel so far away? Why does love often feel as inaccessible as a being we can’t see, touch or hear? 

These are the questions I’ve wrestled with on and off, not just as a disciple but as a human being. The questions only seemed to get stronger after my baptism seven years ago. The cost to be a disciple in a broken world kept inflating, and this past year it skyrocketed.

By April of 2023, I lost my grandmother in Japan. Not even four months later, I got a call on my Sabbath saying my mom committed suicide. My world screeched to a halt, and my brain malfunctioned. It kept searching for a missing piece to a puzzle that didn’t exist anymore. Sometimes I wasn’t sure if it was me or her living in an alternate universe. I’ve studied the Bible with people and helped them get baptized. I gave up my career of four years and gave thousands back to the government to begin ministry. I’ve helped others overcome depression and self-hate. So why did God, who is love, allow this to happen? Why did God, who is love, not let me help my own mother who was hurting? I wrestled and I ached. I felt like Israel at Peniel and Job in the ashes. No answers, just questions. 

But the more I wrestled to find the answers, the more God revealed to me that’s not what I need. I needed His comfort. I needed His compassion. I needed His love. I needed Him. Someone who could hold space for my agony and tell me I’m not alone. I needed an empathetic witness. At the end of his conversation with God, Job received no straight answers for his misery. Yet he says, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you,” as if God’s presence was enough (Job‬ ‭42‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬). Yes, God’s love did not take away my suffering. But His love did meet me in it. And for some reason that I still can’t fully explain, it has been enough. 

By July 2024, I lost my last two grandmothers within two weeks of each other. After just passing my mom’s first heavenly birthday on July 24, I was back sitting in the ashes. All my maternal figures were gone in one year. I looked to God again for the gift of His love with nothing left to give. This time He pointed me to Psalm 22 and the sufferings of Jesus. He showed me that out of His love He’s chosen not to take the suffering away. The Israelites remained under the oppression and thumb of the Romans even after Jesus’ resurrection. But He also showed me that out of His love He’s chosen to suffer WITH me.

Jesus violently pierced onto the cross; betrayed by those He loved most; mocked by those who hated Him; everything He has left draining from Him; and He looks at me pierced on my own cross and says, “I am with you always.” 

J.S. Park, the author of As Long As You Need, puts it beautifully in the chapter “Loss of Faith: A Hole-Shaped God”-- “The only thing I had left to believe was not a belief I had to keep but a belief that kept me.”

Yes, the gift of love shows us that God loves us even when we are unlovable. Absolutely, the gift of love shows us that we can love a world that seems unlovable. But even more powerful than these: the gift of love holds us together when we have nothing else left to hold on to.  

Sisters, I don’t know how this year went for you or how you are stepping into this season of giving. Maybe you feel like you have nothing left to give. Maybe you feel like you haven’t given enough. I pray you can take this moment to rest in the sufficiency of God’s love. I pray your arms are open as His daughter to receive the one thing you can never lose—His love. Him. Finally, I pray as He reveals His identity of love to you that He lavishes on you your identity rooted in His love. You are so deeply and fully loved. 

Questions for Reflection:

1. Are there references you have of God that do not align with His identity as “God is love”? If so, how do they divert from scripture?

2. In what areas is it hard for you to receive the gift of God’s love? What are the obstacles? 

3. How can you help someone experience the gift of God’s love? 

Today I will:

Choose Your Own Adventure Challenge: 

• Option 1: Write a love letter to God today focusing on the ways God has loved/held you, especially in challenging or uncertain times. End with a prayer asking God to seal these reminders on your heart.
• Option 2: Identify an area that brings fear or anxiety. Write down what God’s voice of love would say to this fear or anxiety.
• “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬)

About the Author:

Nobuko Del Valle is a full-time minister at The Mercer Church of Christ and the host of the Love in Dark Places podcast. With personal experiences of grief and loss, she has found healing and purpose in ministering to women struggling with mental health challenges, survivors of abuse, and those wrestling with suicidal thoughts. Nobuko’s journey of faith has deepened through learning to trust God in her own dark places, allowing her to encourage others with empathy and hope. Her ministry reflects a heart devoted to bringing God’s light into life’s darkest places and embodying the love of Christ in word and action. She currently resides in Central Jersey with her loving husband Charles Del Valle. You can connect with Nobuko by email at loveinthedarkplaces@gmail.com or on Instagram at @nobi.love_.