4 Truths About Love

February 12, 2025

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Let love be your highest goal!” (NLT).

In other words, make love your number one priority. Make it your primary objective. Make it your greatest ambition. Make it your life purpose. Don’t say, “One of the things I want in life is loving relationships.” Don’t just put it in your “Top 10.” Make it number one!

Here are four truths about Real Love (the real love that God is talking about, not what the world says love is)

The Bible says love is a command.

God commands that we love each other: “Love means doing what God has commanded us” (2 John 1:6 NLT).

You can’t always control an emotion, and God would never command you to do something that he doesn’t give you the power and the ability to do. That means that love is not a feeling.

The Bible says love is a choice.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:1, “Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does” (The Message).

If you “go after” something, that means you make a choice. Love is a choice. We choose to love or not to love. Love is not a feeling, in fact, we can choose to love in spite of our feelings.

You choose to love others like God loves us.

The Bible says love is a conduct.

Love is an action. Love is something you do. The Bible says, “Let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions” (1 John 3:18 TLB).

Every day God puts opportunities around us to demonstrate love. The problem is most of the time we’re too busy. How many times have you thought, “I need to make a call; I need to encourage that person at work; I need to help my neighbor,” but then you missed the opportunity because something else came up?

Love takes advantage of opportunities to serve others.

The Bible says love is a commitment.

The Bible says in 1 John 4:16, “God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and he will stay one with us” (CEV).

Our relationship with God is largely affected by our relationship with other people. If we commit to love, then we will keep in one with our hearts with God, and he’ll stay one with us—because God is love.

Love is the mark of a Christian.

“Everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35 NIV).

The distinguishing mark of a Christian is not a cross, a crucifix, a dove, or a fish on a bumper sticker. The sign of a Christian is love.

How many people know you’re a Christian because of your loving lifestyle?