What is Love?

     This months devotional comes from Bro Anthony Collins from First Baptist Church of Hammond, IN. Bro Collins is the Vice President of Operations at Hyles Anderson College.

"But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;" 

I Thessalonians 4:9-10

    Paul gave the church at Thessalonica some pretty strict instructions regarding sanctification and behavior in this chapter. In verse 9, he transitions to talking about brotherly love and the importance of showing the love of God to one another. Paul acknowledges in verse 10 that this church does that, and does it well. He encourages them to increase their love for one another “more and more.” As I read that phrase, “more and more,” I was challenged to increase my love for the brethren. In a world where we are torn apart by hate and division, God wants us to increase our love.

 

What is love? Love is an action. It is something you do, not just something you feel. God so loved that world that He GAVE. He DID something. I John 4:10 says, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son…” God didn’t just feel love for us. He showed love for us by sending His Son to die for us. God set the example of what love is. So, if we are to show the love of God, we are to give, serve, and help others. If I am to increase my love for the brethren, I am to increase my service to them.

 

It is interesting that God expects us to love one another. He does not expect us to like one another. That implies that we may not always agree with each other, but we are still commanded to love. I can agree with everyone about something. I can agree with nobody about everything. If we are to increase our love more and more, we need to focus on the areas in which we agree rather than the areas in which we disagree. Mrs. Marlene Evans was the first Dean of Women at Hyles-Anderson College and the founder of the Christian Womanhood magazine. She used to say, “I am not compatible with anyone.” I agree!  Sometimes, I don’t even agree with myself! Agreement is not a prerequisite for love. It is a good thing God doesn’t stop loving me because I do something He disagrees with! I’m glad God doesn’t attack me, disown me, unfriend me, or stop loving me because I may do something differently than He does. God’s love is unconditional. If I am to show the love of God more and more, my love needs to be unconditional. That means my service to others needs to be unconditional.

 

  1. Look for ways to serve/love others.
  2. Focus on the areas in which you agree rather than the areas in which you disagree.
  3. Seek to show the love that God showed for you to those in your life.
  4. Love one another and increase more and more

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 2, 2025 at 6:14 AM

    In regards to the point Bro. Anthony made about God not commanding us to "like" each other, I would like to offer a bit of push back in the spirit of friendly banter... The Scripture say in Romans 12:10, "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; " I think this would fall under the category of "liking" Just a thought. To say 'I love someone, but I don't like them' is understandable, but 'love' would at least challenge us to make the attempt... :-)

    ReplyDelete

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