Love Is...

Love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that enables us to value others with the distinguishing characteristic of sacrificial giving for the best interest of another. God places within us the ability to value Him and others, producing the capability to give while expecting nothing in return. True love can be seen at the cross, where Christ willingly sacrificed everything to be in a relationship with us to fulfill the Father’s purpose. Love promotes the work of God rather than the will of the individual. It is God’s heart in action through us.

God’s fruit of love perfects our hearts with abilities that are alien to the human condition. We are not simply better versions of what we were; we are now something altogether different because of the Holy Spirit’s work that moves us to Christlikeness.

BIBLE TRUTH
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance" (1 Cor. 13:4–7 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
Apart from God, the human heart has no capacity for love. Left to our own devices, we offer only a counterfeit version laden with self-interest as a means to secure our self-centered pleasures. We strive to attain value and worth through people, positions, and possessions, believing we can find fulfillment apart from Christ. This illicit love masquerades in forms that may look noble, but the chief concern is how something will impact self. The ideal of giving to another has been replaced by the idea of gaining for oneself. We will evidence the fruit of love when we resign from the self-centeredness that culminates in emptiness and then allow the Holy Spirit to enable us to value others.

PRAYER
My Father, help me to continue to love others, for I know that love comes from You. I believe that anyone who loves is a child of Yours and knows You. But anyone who does not love does not know You, for You are love. (1 John 4:7–8)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)


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