What does the Bible say about love?
God's love comes first
The Bible does not start with "try harder to love." It starts with God loving people first, before they have earned it. "We love because he first loved us." Love begins as something received.
What love looks like
1 Corinthians 13 gives the most famous description: patient, kind, not envious, not proud, keeping no record of wrongs. It is a picture of love as everyday behaviour, not just a warm feeling.
Love God, love your neighbour
Jesus summed up all of God's commands in two: love God with everything you are, and love your neighbour as yourself. Everything else hangs on those.
Love is costly, and so is grace
The clearest picture of love in the Bible is Jesus giving his life for people who did not deserve it. That is the love we are invited to receive, and, slowly, to share.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres., 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
We love because he first loved us., 1 John 4:19Ask your own question →
What does "God is love" mean?
That love is not just something God does; it is who he is. Everything he does flows from love.
Is love a feeling or a choice?
In the Bible it is mostly a choice expressed in action, though feelings often come along with it.
Does loving someone mean I have to accept harmful behaviour?
No. Love "does not delight in evil." Loving someone can include setting boundaries and protecting yourself from harm.
kinwove's answers are designed never to invent quotes, statistics, or scripture: every Bible reference is verified against the actual text, and where faithful Christians genuinely disagree, we say so.
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