Key Verses: John 13:35, 1 Corinthians 13, Romans 5:5 (BSB)
"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." —John 13:35
"...because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." —Romans 5:5b
If the fruit of the Spirit were a tree, love would be the taproot—the central line from which all the other fruits draw their life. Without love, the other traits become hollow. Joy becomes selfish delight. Peace becomes complacency. Patience becomes passive tolerance. Love is not just one part of the fruit—it is the flavor of all the others.
Jesus made it the defining mark of His followers: "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). That wasn’t a throwaway line. It was given on the night He washed His disciples' feet and prepared for the cross. Christian love isn’t a vibe; it’s an action. It kneels, serves, sacrifices, and forgives.
Paul echoes this in 1 Corinthians 13, famously known as the "love chapter." In a church obsessed with spiritual gifts, Paul reminds them that all their charisma is meaningless without love:
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal... And if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." (1 Cor. 13:1-2)
He goes on to describe love not in sentiment, but in action:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking... It keeps no record of wrongs." (vv. 4-5)
This love is impossible to fake. You can’t muster it up. It must be poured into us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). It flows from the love God has shown us in Christ:
"But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
When you realize how deeply you’ve been loved—undeservedly, sacrificially, eternally—you are changed. And that change looks like love for others. Even the ones who make it hard.
Reflection:
- Do I love others the way Christ has loved me?
- Are my relationships marked by patience, kindness, humility, and forgiveness?
- Do I love only when it’s convenient, or when it costs me?
Prayer:
Father,
Thank You for loving me when I was unlovable. Thank You for pouring Your love into my heart through the Holy Spirit. Teach me to love others with that same kind of love—patient, kind, humble, and enduring.
Help me to be known by my love. Not by sentiment, but by sacrifice. Let every other fruit in my life be seasoned with love. May my joy be loving, my patience loving, my self-control loving. Grow in me a love that reflects the heart of Christ.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Thanks for reading.
