Love

Summary

Love, in the Bible, is not mainly a feeling but a settled commitment to seek another's good — at cost to oneself. It begins in God, who is love, and overflows toward a world that did nothing to deserve it. Love is the greatest commandment and the supreme mark of God's people. Everything else — faith, knowledge, sacrifice — is empty without it.

In the Old Testament

The law's heart is love: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' God's own love for Israel — a steadfast, covenant-keeping love (hesed) — was the model and the source for theirs.

In the New Testament

Jesus gave a 'new commandment': 'love one another, as I have loved you' — and then defined that love at the cross. 'God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' Real love, John says, is this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us.

Common Misconception

Our culture treats love as a feeling we fall into and out of, measured by attraction or sentiment. Scripture's love is a verb — chosen, durable, and self-giving. It can be commanded precisely because it is an act of the will, not a hostage to the emotions.

Application

Ask not 'Do I feel love?' but 'Will I act in love?' Love the difficult person with patience, the needy with generosity, the offender with forgiveness. As you have freely received God's love, let it flow through you — concrete, costly, and consistent.

Key Passages