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Understanding God’s Definition of Love

“Love means doing what God has commanded us.” 2 John 1:6 (NLT)

The Bible says love needs to be central to our lives, so let’s take a few moments to consider what love really is.

1. 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). Love is not a feeling. 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. Imagine seeing a little kid who’s crying and upset, and saying, “I command you to be happy!” You simply can’t command someone to feel a certain way.

2. 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” (MSG). If you “go after” something, that means you make a choice. Love is a choice. We choose to love or not to love. But acting in love when you don’t feel like it is actually a higher level of love than when you do feel like it. It’s one thing to love when the flowers are in bloom, but the real test of love is in the winter, when things are not going great in your life. We choose to love in spite of how we feel and to give the other person what they need, not what they deserve. Choose to love others like God loves us.

3. The Bible says love is a course of action to live by.

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 you 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.

4. 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 relationships with other people. If we commit to love and continue to live a life loving others, then our hearts will be one with God because God is love.