Understanding the love God has showed us in Christ is a prerequisite to exercising genuine love ourselves. He is our source, our model, and our strength as we seek to love Him and others well. Today, we’re looking at five more truths about what Christian love is.

Christian love is our highest calling.

Love is meant to be the distinguishing aspect of a believer’s life. Above all else, we are called to love well.

• “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” —Colossians 3:14
• “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” —Mark 12:30–31
• “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” —1 Corinthians 13:13

Christian love means knowing and loving God.

The first way love shows up in our lives is in our love for God. We love Him because of the lavish way He has loved us.

• “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” —1 John 4:8
• “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” —1 Peter 1:8

Christian love means caring for others.

Apart from our love for God, our love for others is the primary way we show ourselves to be followers of Christ.

• “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” —Romans 13:10
• “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” —John 13:35

Christian love is a sign of unity.

The love of Christ binds Christians together in unity. When we love our fellow believers well, we act as a testimony to that end.

• “My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.” —1 Corinthians 16:24

Christian love is a mirror of God’s love for us.

God’s love for us is the source of all our love for others. We understand what genuine love is because we have been loved so deeply and personally by Him. Our love is a small picture of that reality.

• “We love because he first loved us.” —1 John 4:19
• “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” —1 John 4:11
• “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.” —1 John 4:7

To learn how you can be praying with us for the ministry in Haiti, visit Prayer Requests.