Love

As we follow Jesus, we ought to cultivate a genuine love for God and for others. The apostle John puts it simply: “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). Paul gives us a picture of our love-less lives before Jesus when he says, “For we ourselves were once foolish … passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). Sin causes us to be self-focused. We hate those who get in our way, and others hate us when we get in their way. Envy, malice, and hatred are the fruit of those who have not encountered the love of Christ.

But the love of Christ satisfies our starving hearts and enables us to shift our focus toward others. “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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:10-11). Instead of seeing others as pawns for our selfish gain or obstacles in our path, we see them as fellow image-bearers in need of God’s love.

Because God’s love for us was expressed through action (John 3:16), true love is active: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Love for others certainly includes feelings of affection (Romans 12:10), but true affection is always accompanied by works. We long to do good to all people, just as the Father is merciful to all. But we especially long to do good works to our church, as Paul writes, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

Over time, demonstrating the love of Christ makes us become more like him: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all … so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness …” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).