Yes, GOD loves as only HE can love!

 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  1 John 4: 8

Rob Bell's book, Love Wins, is one that I read when it first came out, and I found it
very positive and encouraging. I have also found that there are those who do not
feel positively about the message of the book, those who fear that we risk looking at
God as a "God of Love" and forgetting His other attributes. 

The gospel message, as an important example, is based on the fact that God hates
all sin, He is Holy and without sin. This puts us humans in a precarious position
because we all sin. It is a part of a fallen nature that dates back to the original sin.
Therefore, to be somehow acceptable to a God that cannot accept sin, we have the need
of a savior, Jesus, who came into the world to defeat Satan, death and provide a
sacrificial atonement for our sin. We, as sinners, can only be acceptable to God as
righteous if we accept this payment by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour,
repent and love God with our heart, soul and mind.

So where does this leave us with God's love? 

  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3: 16

It seems to me that being created in the image of God means that we share emotions
common to God. To accept God as loving, does not ignore His other attributes. Each
of his attributes is a "maximum" attribute. He is fully and completely transcendent,
 Holy, majestic, omniscient, omnipresent...the list goes on. 

Despite His true hatred for sin, aware that we, His creation, are mired in sin, He
has provided a way for atonement. He has provided a means to be welcomed into
His presence and family as adopted children. He has offered up His son to be
sacrificed, as the only possible propitiation for our sinfulness. To me, this
shows His amazing gracious LOVE.

It is best that we not look at God as a God of Love at the expense of forgetting
His wrath toward sin, His coming judgment on the earth...but it is also a bit
frightening to allow this to shade our acceptance and appreciation for the emotion
He invented and has shone in our direction...His Glorious LOVE!