The love of a parent, mentor, friend or lover often bolsters our confidence. But, as we saw last week, God’s love is perfect. And if we truly understand that perfect love, it won’t just make us confident—it will make us fearless.

The book of 1 John claims that love comes from God, and the love that comes from God can provide us with a new beginning to our lives. But far too often, we turn love into our god rather than letting God be the measure by which we understand love. John goes on to point us toward God’s perfect demonstration of his perfect love.

We’ve looked at the priority of love to the character of God, and we’ve looked at ways love can be mis-directed in our lives. But John’s letter doesn’t just lead us to consider love itself—it also prompts us to consider the opposite of love: Who is it from? How does it work? And what does it ultimately show us?

Last week, we looked at how central love is to God’s character. But what happens in our own lives when we love the wrong things first? Glenn Hoburg leads us through the objects of such false love, the heart behind that false love and what brings that false love to an end.

The next five installments of our look at how to know God through the lens of 1 John are dedicated to love. Is that excessive? Not when you realize how central love is to both John’s letter and God’s character. This week, we’ll start to look at the priority love has and the resources it provides.