Love

This is the first thing mentioned in Gal 5:22 about the fruits of the Spirit.

1 Cor 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, those three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Other versions replace charity with the word love.

1 Jn 4:8 He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.

He doesn't merely love, God IS love.

Jn 5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth Him all things that Himself doeth; and He will shew Him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

Jn 17:23 I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them as Thou has loved Me.

God loves us as He loved Jesus! It has to be true, cause Jesus said it was! Now if that doesn't put a song in your heart and a smile on your face, I don't know what will.

Jn 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

Because God loves Jesus, He made His will known to Him. Because He loves us, He will make His will for our life known to us if we seek Him with our whole heart. Because Jesus loved God, He was obedient and submitted to God's will for His life. Are you (and I) willing to do the same?

Lk 22:42 Saying, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done.

Rom 5:8 But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1 Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

No one "took" Jesus' life. He willingly gave it because He loved us. And He did it even though we didn't deserve it. We were sinners.

Ez 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God; wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

He loves us and doesn't want us to perish.

Where does our love come from?

1 Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Jude 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

This indicates we have a choice to make about remaining in God's love.

This comes from the NIV translation:

1 Cor 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
:2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
:5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
:6 Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
:7 It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres.
:8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

As you can see from these verses, the fruit of the Spirit is in direct opposition to the works stemming from the flesh.

Well this is long enough. But there is so much in the word about love it was hard to stop digging a little deeper.

Love to all of you, and hugs to anyone who read to the end.