ATTITUDES FOR GODLY DEVELOPMENT: “LOVE”

• If someone claims to follow Jesus but does not love, they are not demonstrating one of the strongest qualities of true spiritual growth.
• John 3:16 For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
• 1 John 3:16 We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
• 1 John 4:19 We love each other because he loved us first.
• An authentic Christian is motivated to love because of the love placed in the heart at salvation.

• 1 John 4:7-8 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
• How can believers in Jesus love people who are different in various ways? Because God has placed the nature of His love within us, it can then flow toward all people.
• 1 John 4:20-21 If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21 And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.
• The world cannot see God directly, but it can observe His presence reflected in the loving followers of Jesus and His church.
• 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

1. (1 Corinthians 13:4) “Patient and kind” is a Greek compound of two words: “thymia” and “macro”. Combining the two – macrothymia – means the ability to be wronged without retaliating. It suggests being long-fused, as opposed to having a “short fuse.”

Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things

2. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5) Love is not…
Choose not to be so easily offended.

3. (1 Corinthians 13:6-7) 
Instead of harming others with words or actions, I strive for their highest good.

1. Love is patient – impatience is pride, and pride exposes impatience.
2. Love is built on trust – How trust develops: integrity. Actions and words align.
3. Love is hopeful—stay optimistic. Better days are coming. Hopeful love means sticking together, praying, hoping, and never stopping believing—TOGETHER (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).
4. Love endures through every circumstance.

DO THIS:

1. Tell people you love them and work through problems.
2. Tell people you love them, and don’t wait.

AVOID SOWING SEEDS OF REGRET:

• Ephesians 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

  1 John 4:19 We love each other because he loved us first.

Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I know that the penalty of my sin is physical, spiritual, and eternal death. I acknowledge that I can’t do anything about my situation. But I know that You came to pay the penalty for my sin. I trust in You alone as the One who died in my place. I repent of my sin and trust in You alone as the only One who can place me in an eternal relationship with the living God. I desire to be Your child. I desire to live as Your child. In Your name. Amen.

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