9 In this the love of God was made manifest (revealed) among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:9-11 (English Standard Version)

Love is a word that is easily misused. Apart from the emptiness of Hollywood's idea of love, many a woman has experienced the heartbreak of a man who once said he 'loved' her, walking out of the marriage. Love is much more than words - it's best revealed by actions. That's certainly true of God's love as vs 1 tells us today. What is it about God's love that takes it a big step further than our love? (vs 10)

God took the initiative in loving us first. Even though there was nothing morally good about us that made us lovable, He chose to send His only Son to make it possible for us to live forever in His company. God provided for us what we desperately needed. Providing for others is a big part of genuine love. When the apostle Paul spoke of widows and orphans in his times who needed help and care, he said: “If anyone doesn't provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8) Christians are meant to show their love by providing for those in genuine need.

What word in vs 10 would you say reveals just how wonderful God's providing love is?

I'd say it's the word 'propitiation'. In English this word means to 'appease' or to 'calm' someone who is angry with you. In the New Testament it was used for an Old Testament word that meant 'to cover'. Various items of the ‘altar’ that God told Moses to make, where the people could bring their sacrifice, were spoken of as 'a covering'. It was a place where God's mercy was shown and their sin was covered.

Another side of 'propitiation' is that it involves a substitute. Something is given in place of another. In the Old Testament we read of how God tested a man named Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham's trust in God was such that he set off for the place where the sacrifice was to be made. On the way we read that Isaac said to Abraham ‘My father ‘, and Abraham replied, ‘Here am I, my son.’ Then Isaac said, ‘Behold, the fire and the wood - but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ And Abraham said: ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’ And that's what God did. At the place of sacrifice as Abraham was about to do the deed, God called out to him to not slay his son. And Abraham saw a ram caught by it's horns in a thicket, and the lamb was sacrificed in place of his son. (Genesis 22:1-14)

The apostle Paul wrote that this is what God has done for Jews and Gentiles through Jesus Christ. He said: “God's righteousness has been manifested through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there’s no distinction - all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift,  through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:21-25)

God, in love, provided what we desperately needed. We needed a sacrifice that could cover our sins and make us righteous in God's sight. We needed someone to take our place and take the wrath of God that we deserved. And God sent His Son into the world to do just that. And Jesus willingly gave Himself on the cross to bear the blow ours sins deserved. So John says, ‘this is how God has revealed His love for us!’

How should we respond to such love? (vs 11)

We are called to love others, especially our Christian family, with the same sort of love that God has shown us. It's a love that is more than mere words. It's a love that seeks to provide for others needs without expecting them to love us first.