For centuries, love has been hailed as the greatest virtue. But in today’s world, love is often distorted and reduced to mere emotion, convenience, or selfish desire. True, unconditional love—the kind that sacrifices for the good of others—seems counterintuitive and countercultural. Yet this selfless love is at the very heart of the gospel.
Jesus said,”By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” But what does it mean to love like Jesus? And how can we find the power to love in this unconditional way?
- Love is the greatest thing in the world. Faith and hope are important, but love is the greatest of the three. God is love, and love came through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. The greatest commandment is to love God and love others.
- Christian love is different from the world’s view of love. The world sees love as about individual desire and self-fulfillment. But Christian love is willing self-sacrifice for others, without demanding anything in return.
- Jesus’ love reframes our understanding of love. It moves us from self-fulfillment to self-denial. We live not for ourselves but for Christ who gave his life for us.
- Jesus’ love renews and gives us new power to love in the right way. Through Christ, we become new creations, and God exchanges our sin for his righteousness.
- Jesus’ love redeploys us. We become ambassadors of Christ, carrying his values and representing his name. We use our gifts and talents not to make our own names great but to make his name great.
- Redemption Gateway is planning to plant a new congregation in north Phoenix, led by Josh Watt. This is an opportunity to be redeployed to serve and reach more people for Christ.
The world tells us that love is about fulfilling our desires. But Jesus shows us that true love means sacrifice – giving ourselves away for the good of others. This sounds impossible without divine aid. Yet through his death on the cross, Jesus’ love renews and empowers us to live unselfishly. Jesus’ love redeploys us as his ambassadors, carrying his message of reconciliation to a world in need.
Will you allow Jesus’ love to transform and deploy you? Will you seek ways – both great and small – to love like Jesus in your personal life, work, family and community? This is the kind of love that has the power to change the world, one heart at a time – beginning with our own.