What is the "Love of God"?

I love studying on the subject of faith. We have all heard the Scriptures:

"Faith moves mountains"

"You just need a mustard-seed of faith."

"Without faith you cannot please God."

"Faith is the evidence of things not seen....."

"Faith comes by hearing the Word of God."

Then we discovered how faith works: "Faith works by love" (Galatians 5:6). Once I may made that discovery, I did my best to walk in God's love. I knew that if I wasn't walking in love towards my brother, my faith would not work! So I need to stay in love! I cannot step out of love towards my brother, my family, my church! I need to my faith to work, so stay in love!

I propose to you that my emphasis was wrong. Yes, faith works by love........but whose love is it? It's not my love towards others I should be focusing on. It is God's love towards me!

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (I John 4:10).

Notice that John clearly defines love----"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us......" When I focus on loving others so that my faith can work, I fail. But when I focus on how much God loves me, I succeed in loving others. We have to get the progression correct! We are not to boast in our love for God or our love for others, we are to boast in God's love towards us! This is love! And this is one of the big differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In Deuteronomy 6 God instructs His people to "love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, and strength." But in the New Covenant, God tells us how He loves us with all his heart, soul, and strength! In the Old Covenant the responsibility was on the people. In the New Covenant, the responsibility is on the Father! Now this is a love that will work!