Tuesday, November 14, 2017

What Should Love Look Like? Answers From Scripture


God instructs us to love one another. But what is love, really? What does it mean to truly, wholeheartedly love someone? We can find answers in the scripture, such as the verse below.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
1 John 3:16

To lay down our lives. To give everything that we have. That is love.

And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
1 John 4:21

To love is a command. He doesn't just suggest that we love others, but he commands us to love everyone.

We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19

God is the perfect example of love.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

He has shown us perfect love in dying for us while we were sinners. When there was no reason to love us he loved us. He cared for us. He died for us.

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

God gave his own son for us. He loved us so much that he sacrificed for us.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is not always easy. But love is always essential.

God loved us so much that he died for us. He gave the perfect example of love, and when we follow his example we cannot go wrong.


By Bethany Acker, Co-Author of No Longer Broken

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