True love is pure and unconditional and the only way we can love others in a pure way is knowing Christ. It may sound cliché and many may know this, but who is truly loving others unconditionally?

Love is demonstrated by one expressing it through love or by actions and deeds. Sometimes one may “feel” love because it can be demonstrated through your emotions, but what about the times when you don’t really feel like showing or expressing love, but really want to show or voice your love for someone? Even deeper; what if you don’t feel like showing or expressing love and don’t want to show it due to mishaps, feelings, misunderstandings, lack of communication, etc. Knowledge and understanding of true love through Christ will allow you to inevitably demonstrate it regardless of circumstances or how you feel. Lack of knowledge of true love allows one’s love to be perverted, tainted, and distorted. Overall, one not always need to say “I love you” because they may not truly mean it; if anything, we should rather show others we love them by our actions- like God did by sending Christ to the world and like Christ showed when he chose to submit himself to death.

“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).                

In order to love others unconditionally, you have to learn and understand the love of the Most High and Christ- love without the Father and Son will always be mixed with carnality. We must know that if we are called and chosen for Him, we are loved unconditionally regardless of our circumstances in life. We are truly loved by the Most High in the current state we are in no matter how we look, how much money we have, or how our possessions look. God does NOT love us the way our parents, siblings, spouses, friends, or relatives love us; not even the way we love ourselves because our love for one another in some shape or form may not always be filled with perfect love, as we are not perfect individuals and some of us are still learning to love ourselves unconditionally. We will always strive to live in perfect love, but there will sometimes be breaches in our love showing us that God’s love supersedes ours: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord; or as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

First, understand and accept the love of God and Christ- our Father and Christ loved us first

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him; herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us; much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:8-9).

In order to love others unconditionally, we must understand His love and also love ourselves unconditionally- taking care of ourselves, uplifting ourselves, and encouraging ourselves, because how can one love others if they don’t know or understand the love of the Father and Christ, yet alone even demonstrate true love to themselves?

Next, Learn to love yourself through Christ

“He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good” (Proverbs 19:8).

“For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cheriseth it, even as the Lord the church” (Ephesians 5:29).

And then you will learn and grow to love others the way you are to

“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God; beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 John 4:7, 11).

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another; by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13: 34-35).

“And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins”     (1 Peter 4:8).

“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).

So, know that God loves you more than you will truly understand. You must learn to love and serve Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; Christ has demonstrated his love through his own life; we must learn to love and nurture ourselves; we will then strive to love others as we imitate Christ.

Many are familiar with the following verse, but we still must diligently seek to live it:

“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up;doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things; charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (1 Cor 14:4-8).

I encourage you to re-read and read again; then deeply meditate on how we are to love

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love” (John 15:9).