“Love” is one of the most common words in our culture. We say we love our friends, our pets, our favorite food, and even our weekend plans. But when the Bible talks about love, it is pointing to something much deeper.
Biblical love isn't just about feelings or nice words. It is a choice to act for the good of others, even when it costs us something. And that is exactly how Jesus lived. If we want to follow Him, we need to learn what it means to love like He did.
What Is Biblical Love?
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 NLT
Love is a fruit the Spirit produces in our lives, and it is the greatest of all virtues.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”
Real love requires action.
So what makes biblical love different from how we usually talk about love? Love isn’t limited to affection or positive feelings. Real love requires action. Love is choosing to sacrifice for the good of another, just like Jesus did for us.
How Jesus Taught About Love
In John 15, Jesus used a picture of a vine and branches to explain how love grows in our lives. He said,
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing John 15:4-5 NLT
Love flows from staying connected to Him. We can’t love like Jesus in our own strength, but when we remain in Him, His love fills us and overflows into our relationships.
Jesus made it clear what this looks like in everyday life.
“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. … This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:12-13, 17 NLT
His teaching is simple but not easy. To remain in His love means obeying His commandments, and His greatest command is to love others the same way He has loved us.
How Jesus Modeled Love
Jesus’ entire life shows us what real love looks like. He welcomed outcasts, washed His disciples’ feet, forgave those who betrayed Him, and ultimately gave His life on the cross for our sake.
Love, according to Jesus, is more than a feeling. It’s a daily choice to put others first.
Love, according to Jesus, is more than a feeling. It’s a daily choice to put others first. His love was active, sacrificial, and costly. It revealed the heart of the Father in ways that words alone never could.
When we talk about loving like Jesus, this is the picture we’re aiming for. A love that doesn’t stop at affection, but a love that requires action.
What Loving Like Jesus Looks Like for Us
If love is the first fruit of the Spirit and the greatest commandment of Jesus, then what does it look like in daily life?
1. Remaining in Him
Love isn’t something we can produce on our own. It comes from staying connected to Jesus through prayer, Scripture, and daily obedience.
2. Choosing Sacrifice
Real love costs us something. It means putting the needs of others before our own, whether that‘s time, comfort, or resources.
3. Obeying His Commandments
Every command Jesus gives is rooted in love. When we obey Him, we remain in His love and show others what His love looks like in action.
Why It’s Hard for Us to Love Like Jesus
From the very beginning of the human story, people have struggled to trust God’s love and follow His ways.
All the way back in Genesis 3, even though human beings had been given free rein over the earth with only one command to follow, it was still too much. Adam and Eve chose their own path instead of trusting that God had their best interests in mind.
That choice broke the world. From that point on, all throughout Scripture, we see example after example of God’s people rejecting His rule over their lives and choosing to do what’s right in their own eyes.
We do the same thing. But why? Fundamentally, it’s because we don’t believe that God has our best interests in mind. We think we know better, so instead of trusting His instruction, we choose to go in our own direction.
That’s why it matters so much that we understand the character of our King. He’s good and true, through and through. There is no shadow side to Him. He doesn’t have ulterior motives. He’s not trying to manipulate you or take advantage of you. He genuinely and sincerely loves you, cares about the details of your life, and wants what is best for you!
Every command God gives is an expression of His love, and they are always for your good.
We tend to love people when it is easy, when they deserve it, or when it benefits us. But that is not how Jesus loved.
Our natural tendency is to love selectively or conditionally. We tend to love people when it is easy, when they deserve it, or when it benefits us. But that is not how Jesus loved. He loved consistently, sacrificially, and without conditions.
This is why we need the Holy Spirit. We can’t love like Jesus by sheer willpower. We need God’s Spirit to shape our hearts, renew our thoughts, and help us remain in Jesus so His love will flow through us.
How Do We Grow in Love?
Love is a choice to sacrifice yourself for the good of another.
Love, according to Jesus, is more than just affection. Real love requires action. Love is a choice to sacrifice yourself for the good of another.
How do we know? Because the love of Jesus went far beyond positive feelings or nice words. He demonstrated His love for us by laying down His life for us on the cross. He proved His love for the Father by being obedient to everything He asked, even though it cost Him His life.
The good news is that God does not expect us to figure this out on our own. The Holy Spirit shows us how to live like Jesus and shapes us into people who love like Jesus.
Here are a few ways to grow in love:
- Stay connected to Jesus. John 15:9-11 reminds us that remaining in His love fills us with joy that overflows.
- Practice daily obedience. Love grows as we take Jesus’ words seriously and apply them to our lives in small, consistent ways.
- Invite the Spirit’s help. Ask the Holy Spirit to transform your heart so your love is genuine, not forced.
- Remember that love requires action. Jesus didn’t just talk about love—He showed it through His choices. We can do the same.
Why Loving Like Jesus Matters Today
Our world is often marked by division, selfishness, and fear. Loving like Jesus stands out because it looks different from what people expect. It reflects God’s heart and makes the gospel visible in everyday life.
Your decision to forgive, to serve, or to sacrifice may be the clearest picture of Jesus someone has ever seen. That is why love matters. It’s not just a nice idea. It is the most powerful way we can show people who God is.
Bible Verses About Love
Love and the Fruit of the Spirit
- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
- And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:14 NIV
The Love of Jesus
- “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:13 NIV
- “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” John 15:9 NIV
- But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 NIV
The Command to Love Others
- “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 NIV
- Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 NIV
- Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14 NIV
Love as the Mark of a Disciple
- “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35 NIV
- Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV
- Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 NIV
The Nature of God’s Love
- See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! … 1 John 3:1 NIV
- Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Romans 8:35 NIV
- And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16 NIV
Reflect or Discuss
- What is one way you’ve personally experienced the love of Jesus?
- Who in your life might need to see Jesus’ love through your actions right now?
- What is one step you can take this week to remain in Jesus so His love flows through you?