Real Love

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.” 1 John 3:16

The search to find the meaning of love outside of scripture is what I would consider an exercise in futility. Love is defined by the world’s standards as everything from an emotion to an affection to a force of nature. But the Bible tells a different story. 

Genuine Christian love is not based on the one who is loved, but on the one who loves. Even the selfless act of giving everything to the poor and sacrificing one’s body (1 Cor. 13:2) is worthless without real love. 

Real love begins with God because God is love. (1 Jn. 4:8) Real love seeks a recipient. God so loved the world that he gave his only son. Real love does not seek its own reward. It seeks the good of the one that is loved. Real love is sacrificial. Jesus gave up his life for us. This is how we know what real love is.

Jesus wants you to love like He loved, thinking of others above your own needs and desires. There is no greater joy than loving others the way God loves us. As 1 John says, “If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”