Session 3

What is love?

From Showing Visible Love: A 7-Day Devotional

Spending time with family. Sleeping in late. Reading a good book. A pint of cookie dough ice cream.

We could make lists of people and things we love. “Love” is a word people use frequently, but how often do we mean it when we say it? A wife doesn’t mean the same thing when she says she loves her husband and when she says “I love college football.”

So, what is love? What does it do? Why does it matter?

1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” God doesn’t just show us love. God is love. Without Him, there is no love. With Him, it is impossible not to love.

God’s love in us changes us. Love is the difference between caring for someone and using someone. Love makes our actions and spiritual gifts useful. Great faith, acts of service, and miracle-working power produce very little without love. Love involves unselfish service to others. To show it is evidence that you care.

In Mark 12:30-31, Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength...[and] love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

As Christians, our love for others is a reflection of who God is. We are called to love God and love others. When we do this, our loving behaviors and attitudes point back to God and who He is.

Reflect:

• What’s one way God’s love has changed you?
• How is God’s love moving you to show love to others?
• What is one way your love for others can point them back to Jesus?