As Paul closed his epistle to the church at Corinth, he exhorted them to be strong in the face of opposition.  “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13).  To follow the instructions of Paul, a certain amount of courage and conviction is necessary.  We need courageous brethren in the church today to wage war on those who would  walk unruly before God.  We need those who are bold enough to confront and expose false teachings and teachers, whether they are in or out of the church.  We need brethren who stand ready to “reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2).

While these qualities are needed in the church today, it is not necessary to sacrifice love to obtain them.  One can be courageous and loving at the same time.  In fact, while rebuking is sometimes necessary, it is sinful to rebuke with any other spirit other than a spirit of love.  As we stated previously, exposing error is sometimes needed, but it must be done in the spirit of love.  Listen to Paul:

1 Corinthians 16:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  Let all that you do be done in love.

Everything we do must be done with love.  The Greek word here is agape.  Agape is the high form of love, and it is unconditional in nature.  It is the term used to describe God, Himself, in 1 John 4:8.

Paul’s statement to do all things with love points, particularly, to our dealings with our fellow man.  The definition of love that I have always liked is that it always acts in the best interest of whatever it is that is loved.  I do not recall where I heard it first, but it immediately made sense to me.  It points to the fact that love is active, not passive.  Love always acts.  Also, that definition enlightens us as to how we can actually love our enemies, something that we are unquestionably called on to do by God.

Matthew 5:43-44 (ESV)
⁴³  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

We may not like the ungodly.  We may not like how they live their lives.  We may not appreciate their utter disrespect for God or God’s people.  Their behavior, their language, and their personalities may all be things that irritate us beyond words; yet, we can still love them, that is, we can always act in their best interest.  With this in view, you can see how we can love those who love us and those who hate us.  We can love those who we know very well and those who are complete strangers to us.  It is this kind of love with which Paul says we must do all things.

We must discipline our children with love.  That means we will not spare the rod, nor will we be abusive.  We must preach the gospel with love.  That means we will preach what people need to hear, not simply what they want to hear.  At the same time, we will not be abrasive and rude in our speech, nor will we be quick to anger when dealing with those who do not immediately see the truth of the gospel.  Paul said, “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head even Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).  When a brother in Christ is in error, doctrinally or morally, we must try to show him his error in love, understanding that we might someday be in our brother’s position.

Galatians 6:1 (ESV)
¹  Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

We must worship God with love (John 4:24).  We must love our wives (Ephesians 5:25).  We must allow brotherly love to continue (Hebrews 13:1).

We could write line after line discussing the importance of love.  The Bible’s message is that love should prevail in everything that we do.  We should never grow tired of being loved or loving others, and the love that is in our hearts should grow stronger every day.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 (ESV)
⁹  Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, ¹⁰  for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more,

Let us all make up our minds to follow the inspired words of Paul and make sure that everything we do is done with love.  It will enrich our lives and draw us closer to our God, for God is love (1 John 4:8).