Love is a gigantic word in the realm of Christianity.  We know that without love there would be no Christianity at all.  I am not talking about any kind of love, but God’s love.  Without the love of God, there would be no Savior, and so there would be no salvation.  Without the love of God, there would be no plan of salvation, and so there would be no purpose for living.  Without the love of God, there would be no heaven in our future, and so there would be no hope for man.  Without the love of God, sin would be irreparable, permanent, and perpetual, and so the only destiny that would be awaiting us would be a devil’s hell and everlasting torment.

Fortunately, the love of God is real, and all His actions are cast under the shadow of that love.  It is the only thing that can explain God sacrificing His only begotten Son for a world that did not love Him back.  God’s love explains His patience which leads Him to forgive us over and over and over again.  We should thank God daily for His love.

This blog, however, is not about God, it is about us.  What do we have to do with the love of God?  The answer is this—we must do our best to love the way God loves.  Why?  Because love is the fruit of the Spirit.

All of our actions must be motivated by love just like God’s are. We must love our neighbors, our enemies, our families in our homes, and the strangers on the street because God does, and we must keep in mind that the love of God was not just talking, but doing.  God so loved the world that He gave His Son.  So, if we love the way God loves, it will be demonstrated, not simply by our talk, but by our treatment of others.

1 John 3:18 (ESV)
¹⁸  Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

If we are to please our heavenly Father, we must produce this fruit of the Spirit.  It is what the Spirit produces in the life of every true Christian who is living by the Word of God.

Romans 5:5 (NKJV)
⁵  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Can you see the connection between God’s love and our love?  God’s love has been given to us, and so we, to the extent of our abilities, love the same way that God loves.  How does the Spirit produce this love in us?  The same way He does with the rest of His fruit, that is, by His teaching.

1 John 2:5 (NKJV)
⁵  But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

Do you have this fruit of the Spirit?  It cannot be faked or pretended because we know just how it behaves.  Read 1 Corinthians 13 if you need a reminder on how love acts, and then examine yourself to be sure that you are acting likewise.  Only then can you be sure that you are bearing this fruit of the Spirit.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.