with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your strength."
Deuteronomy 6:5
A man and his wife were in a heated argument. Many unkind words were spoken in the anger of the moment. Finally, there was silence. The husband said, "I'm sorry. I really do love you." She began to cry. He couldn't understand her tears at that point. "Why are you crying now?" She said, "We've argued. We've been angry with each other, and now you think everything is okay because you told me that you love me. I'm afraid that's just talk." He said, "I understand and you're right. I need to show you how much I love you." With those words, they embraced.
It may be easy for any of us to say, "I love the LORD." There's nothing wrong with saying it in song, testimony, and prayer, but we also need to show it by the way we live, and also by the way we treat others. "Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18).
The Bible teaches "we should love one another" (1 John 3:11). The type of love mentioned is from the Greek word agape, meaning unconditional love. It's the kind of love God has for us in Christ. We should not love others simply for what they can do for us, but with God's love, we love them unconditionally.
The Bible teaches "we should love one another" (1 John 3:11). The type of love mentioned is from the Greek word agape, meaning unconditional love. It's the kind of love God has for us in Christ. We should not love others simply for what they can do for us, but with God's love, we love them unconditionally.
How can we love God and others like we should? It's absolutely impossible without the Holy Spirit working in our hearts. God is able to pour out His love into our hearts through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:5-8). Until that happens, we cannot love God, others, or even ourselves as we should. When we start setting up conditions for how we shall love, we have missed the nature of God's love. Those who really love God can say, "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).
