One of Jesus’ commandments is to love others as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39). However, there are so many Christians who attend church, hear a message on love, and walk right out of the service and act as if they never heard the message! Why is that? It frustrated me to see this happening, and God began to speak to me about this issue. Many times people hear messages on love and do not act on them because they think that simply knowing the truth is enough. However we must continue in the truth of the Word by meditating and acting on it long enough to see results in our lives.

We must examine our motives and refuse to allow self-deception to take root if we want to be genuine where our love walk is concerned. We always have a choice to operate in love or selfishness. For example, some people only attend church to fulfill their selfish desires. They are constantly looking for what is in God’s hand rather than seeking His face. However, if selfishness is our motivation for being a Christian, then we have missed the whole purpose of being a Believer.

The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:3, “Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned [or in order that I may glory], but have not love [God’s love in me], I gain nothing (AMP). In other words, if we do what we do for selfish reasons, we gain nothing.

The mark of a true Christian is the ability to love others unconditionally. We honor God when we operate in unconditional love, which is also called agapé, or the God-kind of love. This type of love is not based on our emotions but on a decision. Unconditional love never gives up on anyone. It endures all things and believes the best about everyone. It is not irritated or fretful, and it does not insist on having its own way. It does not keep score of another’s sins or pay attention to a suffered wrong (1 Cor. 13: 4-7, MSG). When we love this way, forgiveness is never a burden.

Love is an action word and can be expressed in many ways. Did you know love can be planted as a seed? It is the most powerful seed you can sow into the lives of others, because God is love, and love never fails. Therefore, when you release the love of God into an irritating situation, the power of God is released.

Loving others unconditionally is proof of our transition from spiritual death into life in Christ (1 John 3:13-16). By purposing to walk in love, we enable God’s power to flow through us to impact others, and we become true representatives of Jesus Christ.