Introduction
According to the Bible, God is love: love comes from him and is shown in Jesus. The greatest commandment is to love God with all your being and your neighbor as yourself. This love is a concrete, patient and generous choice, not a simple feeling.
The word “love” is used for everything: family, food, a movie, a couple. What does the Bible mean when it uses it? It starts with God himself, then comes down to our everyday actions. This page walks through the great texts on love: what God is, what he asks, what true love looks like, and how to keep loving when it is hard.
God is love: what does that statement mean?
The apostle John does not only say that God loves; he says that God is love. Love is not one quality among others; it is the heart of his character. Whatever God does, he does out of love, including sending Jesus for us.
This changes how we love. We do not have to manufacture love by our own strength: we love because we were loved first. Someone who knows they are loved by God can love without running out of reserves.
1 John 4:8
"He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love."
John makes a direct link between knowing God and loving. Whoever does not love has not yet grasped who God is, for God is love. Read all of 1 John 4.
1 John 4:16
"We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him."
We have known God's love and have believed it. Remaining in love means living in his presence: love becomes a place where we dwell. Read all of 1 John 4.
What is the greatest commandment?
A scholar of the Law asks Jesus which is the greatest commandment. His answer comes down to two statements: love God with all your being, and love your neighbor as yourself. Your neighbor is the person near you: a colleague, a neighbor, a family member, a stranger.
These two loves go together. You cannot claim to love God while despising others, nor love others while forgetting God. Jesus says that all the Law and the Prophets, that is, the whole Old Testament, rest on these two commandments.
Matthew 22:37-39
"Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Loving God engages the heart, the soul and the mind, so the whole person is involved. The second commandment is like the first: love for others is born from love for God. Read all of Matthew 22.
What does true love look like?
Chapter 13 of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians is often read at weddings, but Paul wrote it to a divided community. He describes love as a series of actions: being patient, kind, not boasting, not being easily provoked. Love is not an emotion that comes and goes; it is lived out.
This text is also a mirror. Replace the word “love” with your own name, and you will see where you need to grow. It is not about condemning you, but about showing the love of Christ, every trait of which is found in Jesus.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
"Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things."
Paul describes love by its actions: it is patient, it does not “seek its own way,” and it rejoices in the truth. This love bears, believes and hopes, and endures without growing weary. Read all of 1 Corinthians 13.
Does the Bible really ask us to love our enemies?
Yes, and Jesus is very clear. Loving your enemies does not mean liking them, letting yourself be mistreated, or excusing evil. It means refusing to repay evil with evil, seeking their good and praying for them.
It is a love that is chosen more than felt. It rests on the forgiveness God has given us. It may require time, and sometimes healthy boundaries, for example protecting yourself from a violent person while still praying for them.
Luke 6:27-28
"But I tell you who hear: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you."
Jesus lists concrete actions: love, do good, bless, pray. Faced with hostility, love does not remain an idea; it becomes a way of acting. Read all of Luke 6.
How does the Bible speak of love in marriage and family?
For Paul, love in marriage takes as its model Christ giving himself. The husband is called to love his wife as Christ loved the Church, to the point of self-giving. It is a love of service, not of domination.
In family and in every shared life, Paul invites us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. Above all these things, he places love, which binds everything together and makes it complete.
Ephesians 5:25
"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly, and gave himself up for it;"
The model of married love is the self-giving of Jesus. This verse asks the husband to give rather than to take. Read all of Ephesians 5.
Colossians 3:12-14
"Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection."
Paul describes what the believer is to wear: compassion, kindness, humility, patience, forgiveness. Love is the garment that holds them together. Read all of Colossians 3.
How do you keep loving when it is hard?
First, acknowledge your limit. You cannot love everyone by willpower alone, and God does not ask it of you without giving you his help. Ask him each day to fill your heart with his love, then to show you one simple thing to do.
Choose actions, even when the feeling is missing: a message, a service rendered, a word of forgiveness, listening without interrupting. Often, feeling follows action. Also set clear boundaries when a relationship is destroying you: loving does not mean letting yourself be broken.
Finally, let yourself be loved. Many give without ever receiving and end up exhausted. Accept God's love and that of the people around you, for love is passed on from heart to heart.
Further reading
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “God is love” mean?
It means that love is part of God's very nature, not only of his actions. Everything he does comes from this love, which was fully shown when he sent Jesus to save us.
What is the difference between God's love and human love?
Human love often depends on feelings and on what we receive. God's love is given unconditionally, even to those who do not deserve it. It is the source that makes it possible to love differently.
How do you love your neighbor as yourself?
By seeking their good as you seek your own: listening to them, helping them, forgiving them, telling them the truth with gentleness. This also means accepting yourself as someone loved by God.
Should you love your enemies?
Yes, according to Jesus. This means refusing revenge, seeking the other person's good and praying for them. It does not require staying in a dangerous situation: you can love and still protect yourself.