Putting On Love

Brenden Ashby
04/07/24 - Sun AM

Putting On Love

Brenden Ashby

In Galatians 5:22-23 Paul enumerates those nine traits he calls the fruit of the Spirit. The very first virtue Paul lists is love. This makes Biblical sense as love is at the core of the Christian faith, and all other virtues flow from love. So it is absolutely essential that we make growing in love a top priority as it will help in all areas of our Christian life. So, how can we grow in this fruit of the Spirit?

We must first understand that biblical love is a verb. To love God and our neighbor are the two most important commandments (Matt. 22:37-40). Our love of God comes from our knowledge and reverence for Him, and when we have a proper love of God, that should result in loving others. When we consider what is said about love in 1 Cor. 13, we see how love actively seeks the good of others through tangible acts of service. As Christians, we are called to a radial life of loving service, so we must make sure that we are putting into practice love.

But how can I grow in my practice of biblical love? To begin with, we need to recognize that there will always be room to love more (1 Thess. 4:9-10). Secondly, any godly trait or virtue begins with knowledge. So, find one or two passages on love and memorize them, think deeply about them, and pray to God for wisdom for how you can apply them in your life (Jas. 1:5). Finally, we must obey what God is teaching us about love (Jas. 1:22).

Love is so essential to Christians that Paul says in Col. 3:14 NIV, “and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Let us strive to put on love!