What the Bible Says About…Loving Others

LOVE IS THE most important aspect of the Christian life. And the Bible gives us a great deal of teaching on how we are to love others as God loves us.

Take time each day to meditate on the following scriptures. Teach them to your children. Ask the Lord to help you reflect Christlike love to others in every situation.

Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)

18 Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Matthew 5:44 (TPT)

44 Love your enemy, bless the one who curses you, do something wonderful for the one who hates you, and respond to the very ones who persecute you by praying for them.

Luke 6:31 (AMP)

31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.

John 13:34–35 (TPT)

34 I give you now a new commandment: Love each other just as much as I have loved you.

35 For when you demonstrate the same love I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you’re my true followers.

John 15:13 (TPT)

13 For the greatest love of all is a love that sacrifices all. And this great love is demonstrated when a person sacrifices his life for his friends.

Romans 12:9–10 (NLT)

9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. . . .

10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Romans 13:8 (NIV)

8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.

1 Corinthians 16:14 (AMP)

14 Let everything you do be done in love [motivated and inspired by God’s love for us].

Galatians 5:13 (NLT)

13 . . . Use your freedom to serve one another in love.

Galatians 6:2 (AMP)

2 Carry one another’s burdens and in this way you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love].

Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Ephesians 5:33 (NLT)

33 Each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Philippians 2:3 (NLT)

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

1 Peter 4:8 (NLT)

8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

1 John 3:18 (NLT)

18 Let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

1 John 4:7–8 (NLT)

7 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.

1 John 4:20–21 (NLT)

20 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.

A Prayer for Loving Others

Heavenly Father, thank You for the love You have poured abundantly into my heart by the Holy Spirit. Father, You are love. And because I am made in Your image, my DNA is love. Thank You for showing me through Jesus how to live in love.

Father, right now I choose love. I commit to genuinely love others. Forgive me for not being patient, kind, and loving. Forgive me for being judgmental, argumentative, and angry with people. Help me each day to choose compassion, selflessness, forgiveness, and kindness. When I am tempted to respond in an unloving way, remind me of the commitment I made today. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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