Love as We are Called to Love
June 17, 2024
What is love? That is the question people have been trying to answer since the dawn of the universe. It is talked about amongst people, in songs, books and movies. And while there is a lot of talk about it, it is still very much misunderstood and misapplied. We see this a lot in how the world describes it and how God in the Bible does. The world often portrays love as based on infatuation, personal gain, or self-gratification. However, the Bible paints a much richer and deeper picture of what it looks like.
In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, we read “Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” This passage reveals that true love is fundamentally about putting others before yourself. It is demonstrated through patience, kindness, humility, honor, trust and perseverance – not through selfishness or personal appetite. Christ demonstrated this perfect love by sacrificing Himself for the Church (Romans 5:8 and Ephesians 5:25).
In addition, in John 15:13 Jesus taught that “greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” In its purest form, it involves self-denial and self-sacrifice for the benefit of others.
So how do we put it into practice? What can we do? Here is one way. 1 John 3:18 says “Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.” Rather than merely giving lip service to it, let’s show what it really looks like through how we treat others with compassion, generosity, forgiveness and sacrificing for others. What we do has just as great of value, if not more, than what we stay.
Conclusion
Loving others makes a difference. Christ modeled it by laying down His life for us. He didn’t just say He demonstrated it. He demonstrated it as Romans 5:8 says. We can take that example and love others with how we treat them. Love others as we are called to today.
At New Life, we offer a variety of Bible reading plans for exploring God’s word and practically applying it to our lives today. If you would like to be part of a Bible reading plan, check out the different options here.
