Just what is Christian love? Perhaps the best definition ever can be found in how the Apostle Paul defines it in (1 Corinthians 13:4-7): “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
This special type of love, called agape love, can’t be manifested in the life of a non-Christian because a person needs a transformed heart to love like Christ loved. Agape love does not come naturally to us. Because of our fallen nature, we are incapable of producing such a love. But because, as Christians, the Holy Spirit dwells within us we can love like Christ loved. I pray that the following quotations will give you a flavor for just how awesome this special type of love is:1
“I am convinced the greatest act of love we can ever perform for people is to tell them about God’s love for them in Christ.” ~ Billy Graham
“Christian love, either towards God or towards man, is an affair of the will.” ~ C. S. Lewis
“The first purpose of your life is to be loved by God! Yes, it is important to serve him, obey, and trust him, but your first purpose is to love him.” ~ Rick Warren
“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Love is worthless unless it acts out, unless it’s expressed in deed and behavior.” ~ David Jeremiah
“When I have learned to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.” ~ C. S. Lewis
“The first secret to loving others is to immerse yourself in a love relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – and abide there.” ~ Anne Graham Lotz
“Ah, Lord Jesus! I never knew Your love till I understood the meaning of Your death.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
“When to give grace? I’d rather stand before God knowing I loved others too much rather than regretting that I judged too harshly.” ~ Lysa TerKeurst
“True Christian love is not derived from things without, but floweth from the heart, as from a spring.” ~ Martin Luther
“Never procrastinate in showing love. Don’t delay. Don’t put it off. Do it now.” ~ Rick Warren
“God’s love supply is never empty.” ~ Max Lucado
“There is nothing you can do that will make God stop loving you. You could try, but you simply can’t do it – because his love for you is based upon his character and not on anything you do or say or feel.” ~ Rick Warren
“Genuine love for Jesus manifests itself in obedience to His commandments.” ~ R. C. Sproul
“Pure Christian love is not derived from the merit of the object.” ~ Martin Luther
“Parental love is unconditional, and so is God’s love. No matter what a child of God has done against Him, or feels he or she has done that cannot be forgiven, God still loves that wondering soul.” ~ David Jeremiah
“Even Bertrand Russell, who fancied he saw flaws in Christ’s character, confessed nonetheless that ‘What the world needs is love, Christian love, or compassion.’ But this belies a belief in what most others acknowledge, namely, that Christ was the perfect manifestation of the virtue of love.” ~ Norman Geisler
“The true Christian loves his Savior with his whole heart and wants nothing to do with the sin that nailed his Redeemer to the cross.” ~ Kirk Cameron
1 TOP 25 CHRISTIAN LOVE QUOTES (of 145) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
“Genuine love for Jesus manifests itself in obedience to His commandments.” ~ R. C. Sproul
John 14
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Our job is to love out of obedience.
His job is to petition the Father for a counselor who protects and pleads for us from within our heart. Too often we put ourselves on trial before the world does, but the Spirit argues our case before the heavenly Judge and always has the charges thrown out of court. We hear, “Not guilty!” as the gavel comes down.
This equation of love and the gift of the Spirit forever is another mystery of grace.