Love and relationship
How do we truly have a healthy relationship and live in a way that we love one another as Christ would have us do in today’s world? First, we must define love in terms defined in biblical principles. Some of us don’t know how to love or what the true definition of love is. We love from our own perspective, or from what we think love is or should be. We love from a needy perspective, we love out of anger, we love out of passion, and we also love out of selfishness. Our Love can also be possessive.
We will not truly have a spiritual perspective on love until we study God’s perspective. Love is not just an emotion, “let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth,” 1 John 3:18. Most people will define their love this way, with emotion(s). The true definition of Love is a sacrificial action. Yes, true love has a tangible aspect: sacrifice. Love is a choice. I can choose to love my enemy or hold unforgiveness against them. True love is a commitment or faithfulness to someone or something.
The Bible speaks of the Kind of love God wants us to operate in daily: “love is patient, kind, selfless, and honest,” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. God is the source of all love, “love comes from God, and those who love know Him,” 1 John 4:7-8. To truthfully love is to know God. We can say we love someone, but if we don’t know God, we won’t operate in the other foundational principles of Love. God’s love is sacrificial. We all know the scripture, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” John 3:16. God sacrificed His son on the cross for us to have an eternal relationship with Him.
This is the love that God wants us to walk in. Love is defined as putting others’ needs before your own and, ultimately, laying down one’s life for friends (John 15:13, John 15:12-15). Biblical love is a deliberate and steadfast decision to stay committed, not merely a temporary feeling.
“Love is not proud, easily angered, or selfish; it protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
How many people can truly define their love from a biblical perspective? We have learned love from an emotional, feelings-based perspective.
Here’s the saving grace: The Bible is a manual, and a manual of God’s principles, especially on how to love. Let’s begin studying God’s written Word on love and ask God to remove any worldly or emotionally undisciplined outlook we have on love. On top of studying, let’s pray that God removes the negative aspects of love that don’t coincide with His love. Then we should practice the God-based love described in the bible. To first love ourselves, we must love God. We can’t truly understand how to love other people until we learn to love ourselves.
So, if we don’t know how to love God or ourselves, how are we supposed to navigate these relationships? Love and relationships go hand in hand. This is why so many relationships fall apart. Marriages, family and household relationships, friendships, business relationships, and all aspects of relationships fail. We need to get back to a sense of sincerity: “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:9-10
These scriptures outline the many aspects of love, including, in part, God’s principles of Love. Love is the foundation of a fruitful relationship in any relational aspect. For us to develop a prosperous and successful loving relationship, we must dive deeper into the Word and prayer daily. We should be asking God to guide our hearts through the mess of our own selfishness and self-centeredness, and to open our eyes to the God-centered, sacrificial, prideless kind of Love which God has shown us through Jesus Christ. He wants us to spread this love to everyone we come in contact with each day.
Let’s love with God’s love and in God’s way, and cultivate great relationships!
© Promise Land International Ministries 2026
