The word love is overused today. We speak of loving food, teams, our spouse, and the Lord with the same level of enthusiasm. As a result, we tend to think of it with emotional connection. If you love something or someone, then your relationship’s primary dynamic is how you feel.

Then we read the Bible that tells us to “love one another.” There is this immediate pushback as we do not have good feelings about all the people who attend Church. We tolerate them. We are pleasant to them when the situation requires it. We do not do much more than that.

It is essential for anyone connected to a group of believers to know that real Godly love is acting in ways that benefit others. The only emotional connection is that we love God and have strong feelings toward him, so we treat one another with kindness, respect, and grace at his request.

This understanding allows us to even “love our enemies,” as Jesus commands. We do not have to feel positive vibes toward them; instead, we put aside our negative feelings and do the thing God requires of us in blessing them. 

When we change our thoughts from love being an emotion to action, we can perhaps do the love God desires.