orthodoxgladness:

We know that everything that we have is given to us by God and is not even ours forever or reliably. Everything can be taken away from us, except love, and this makes love the only thing that we can give. – Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

When John declares “God is Love” he speaks more than what is a subtle casual comment…as if he was saying “God is nice.” No… He is making the bold statement about the very essence of God and, ipso facto, the very essence of our own existence. God is the eternal existence of Love. And through His own essence, He has called us into that same Love.