What Does It Mean to Love One Another?

God calls us to love one another, but how do we get there? How do we love those who persecute us; those who look down on us for our beliefs or the color of our skin? In many ways, it seems like an impossibility when the idea of love sits in stark contrast to political and social unrest.

But God doesn’t play favorites, and neither should we!

Over the last several months, we have seen the best and worst of America on display, and my desire is not to wade into the political commentary. Goodness knows we have plenty of voices speaking into the issues our nation faces. Instead, I want to focus on what God has to say about showing love to one another because I think His voice is the only one we need to consider.

Do My Words and Actions Show Love?

I have written before about “loving your neighbor,” but it’s a topic that bears repeating. The post Politics and Faith: When “Love Your Neighbor” Feels Hard speaks specifically to the impact of our words, and in it, one of the questions I ask is this: Do my words and actions point others to Christ?  

It’s a question we should be asking ourselves daily, especially when it comes to social media! 

We live in a noisy world, and it’s easy to grow disheartened. But here’s the good news: the TRUTH of GOD’S WORD can TRANSFORM our HEARTS and MINDS.

But…God does overcome evil because God wins.

In the Proverbs 31 Ministries First 5 devotional app, Lysa TerKeurst recently wrote:

“If we treat God’s Word simply as an ancient book with some good principles, we will read it and take from it what we want. But if we truly believe the Bible is the living Word of the one true and holy God, we won’t just read it; we’ll let it read us. It will breathe fresh life into us, rearrange our wrong thinking, redirect our wayward heart tendencies and cause us to become more and more humble with each interaction.”

In the end, the solution to hate and injustice is simple: love one another.

It’s a heart issue, and it starts with you and me. And there is no gray area here. God’s Word speaks volumes about how we should treat others. 

Learning to Love One Another: A Biblical Response to Bias

The Bible speaks loud and clear on the topic of loving our neighbor. While I’ve listed 12 here for you, there are many others. But at the heart of it all, it’s important to remember that God created each and every one of us. There is no ranking order or preference; that is 100% the work of mankind.

As believers, we are called to be different. We need to love others and allow God to change the hearts and minds of his people.

12 Bible Verses Reminding Us Why We Should Love Our Neighbor

• “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).
• “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And a second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
• “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35).
• “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
• “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).
• “My brothers, as believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism” (James 2:1).
• “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).
• “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).
• “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21).
• “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
• “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31).

God offers no qualifiers. He created us. He loves us all the same. But most importantly, He sent His son to die on a cross for people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

So I’ll leave you with this from Drawing Near:

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