Terry was a young man living in Isoso . He loved Marie, a pretty damsel in his village . He loved her to the extent that he could go to any length for her. They had been lovers for a really long time. Marie committed a grievous crime and the punishment was death by hanging. Marie’s family was perplexed. They just could not contain the fact that their daughter would die in such a way. They pleaded and did all they could to make her crime overlooked but to no avail. Terry was in a confused state also. He thought of how he would not see his love ever again. He also thought of how he could save her by dying in her stead. It was like he was standing between the devil and the deep blue sea. Do you know what? He died. He laid his life down for his love . . .

Love ! The most famous topic there is yet , very misunderstood. Love ! The most powerful force there is ! Love! One of the key virtues in the Christian faith.

‘And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.’

1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV

There are different types of love. There is : Eros (erotic love) , Storge (familial love), Philia (friendly love) and Agape (pure, unconditional love) . Agape love is pure and unconditional . Love that is not with you because of what you can offer or can not. It is a kind of love that is without reason . Like the kind GOD has towards you and I.

‘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 NIV

What is this love really about?

• Love is a very essential attribute of GOD: GOD does not just have love. GOD is love!

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

1 John 4:16 NIV

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34‭-‬35 NIV

• Love is a new command from Jesus: Jesus lit up the way of love for us to follow. He was a good leader. Unlike some leaders that tell us to “do as I say “, Jesus told us to “do as I do “. He taught us to love through His actions then, told us to love.
• Love is a true test of discipleship : according to the scripture above, we see that when we love, we are said to be true disciples of Christ.

Now that you know what love entails, how do you cultivate it ? In an introductory post on my IG page , it was made clear that the fruit of the Spirit may take time to be cultivated since fruits are not gotten in a haste. If you did not see the post, you might want to do that before reading further so, click here .

To cultivate the fruit of love , you need to :

1. Study GOD’s Word : The living Word of GOD is Jesus and the written Word of GOD (The Bible) tells us all about Him. Jesus is the perfect and best example of Someone who expressed the Father’s love to mankind everywhere He went. So, through the study of GOD’s Word, you get to know GOD and in turn, cultivate love.
2. The Holy Spirit pours His love in us : as a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit upon accepting Christ into our lives, He spreads all of GOD’s love in our heart. Excess love for you and the people around too. They may not be your neighbours, friends or family. You might not even know them but the love is just enough to go round.

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Romans 5:5 NIV

3. Lay down your life : I am not talking about what Terry did for his love, Marie .That was extreme , don’t you agree? If I had been in his shoes , I would not have entertained the thought . I would have rebuked it every single time it popped up. I want to believe you would have done the same too. By laying down your life, I don’t mean you should go look for Golgotha and get hanged on a cross. By ‘lay down your life‘ , I mean ; make yourself available , use your talents to bless lives , use your resources to help those around you. Be it friends, family, colleagues …

Love is sacrifice. Jesus showed us this when He gave His life to save us from all sins , guilt, shame and all that bad stuff. You can live it out by loving others. Loving your boss that always makes you work extra hours. Loving that friend that is making your relationship seem one-sided. Even, loving that person that does not seem to see good in anything you do. Love! Love! Love!

Hey! Note that love won’t always be a pat on the back. There was an incidence in the Bible where Jesus rebuked Peter for rejecting His death on the cross ( MK. 8:33 ). Peter probably didn’t mean anything bad. He only looked through the devil’s lenses at that point in time. Jesus definitely loved Peter because He was part of His inner circle. If it had been some of us, we would have been upset in our heart but smiled on the outside in the name of “love”.

Bottom line is, Genuinely love others because of what they mean to Jesus Christ. Love is a show of spiritual maturity.

I hope you were inspired. If you were, please share to that person on your mind right now and your social media platforms. Leave a comment as I always love your feedback.