What you’ll learn in this post

In this post I’m going to tell you what loving one another means, how to enact love using examples from the Bible and my own life, and the benefits of loving one another.

The plan

Godly love is the Greek word agapē. I made a mnemonic to help me communicate what I’ve learned from the Word on the topic of “love one another”. I’ll discuss each word in detail!

L = Leadership

O = Obedience

V = Valiance

E = Engagement

Leadership

Love is leadership. If we’re going to look for an example of leadership from the Word, there’s no better person to study than Jesus Christ. Not so coincidently, he said these very words once upon a time.

John 13:34 (KJV) – A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

“As I have loved you” is a tall order, but it’s possible because! Jesus taught so that we could teach, Jesus healed so that we could heal, and Jesus led by example, obeyed, and gave, so that we can do these works too, and greater works (John 14:12).

Loving one another was a new commandment because that instruction wasn’t an explicit part of the Old Testament Law of Moses, it was unique to the mission of the disciples of Jesus Christ – who we are too. the Law was restrictive. For example, Leviticus 11:9 and 10 says you can’t eat anything in the sea that doesn’t have scales and a fin, which rules out oysters, lobsters, crabs, squid – it’d be really hard to live in Seattle in the Old Testament, let me tell you that! In contrast to the restrictive Law, the current law of love is liberating.

John 13:35 (KJV) – By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

Disciples are leaders. It’s our role as disciples to lead in love. The love we are empowered to pour out once we’re born again comes form the same spring that Jesus Christ’s lvoe came from. That spring is not going to run out of love, so why would we leave the valve half open and hold back?

Being a leader, no matter at what level, takes commitment. Commitment means seeing something through to the end. Jesus Christ saw his mission of redeeming mankind from their destruction through, all the way from his first documented words in Luke 2:49 where he said “How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” to his last documented words as a man in John 19:30, “It is finished”. He had so much commitment that even after dying he took up a mission and executed it to perfection: rising from the dead so that we could have everlasting life, and ascending to heaven so that we could have holy spirit like him. That’s commitment that can inspire our life. Thankfully, in the “total rewards package” that is the holy spirit which we received by grace when we were born again, we got mercy. The total rewards also include 9 manifestations, 9 fruits of the spirit, 5 sonship rights, 5 available crowns, everlasting life, and more. All these things equip us to be impactful leaders. Because we have mercy, we shouldn’t condemn ourselves or anyone else when we or they don’t love to perfection. It’s reassuring to know that the potential to love as richly as Jesus is available; it’s something to live for!

Love is embedded in service i.e. we love by serving i.e. helping one another. But sometimes service and loving people can be hard. Rhetorical question because remember this a no-condemnation-zone: have you ever been asked to do something in service and you took a deep breath because you felt that it was a big ask, that it was a challenge, that it was overwhelming, a burden, even? Well, that if I told you that while service can be difficult, your reaction doesn’t have to be negative because we can renew or mind and adopt a fresh perspective in real time through The Word.

John 4:34 (KJV) – Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

“Meat” means “nourishment”. Jesus Christ’s example shows us that to do God’s will is nourishing. Serving, while it does take physical energy, spiritually shouldn’t be depressing or oppressing, it should be energizing! What’s the difference between feeling burdened with service and feeling uplifted? It’s the renewed mind! Love is leadership is commitment is service is renewed mind. Having the renewed mind is having the mind of Christ.

Romans 12:2 (KJV) – And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The word “renewing” is translated from the Greek word anakainōsis, which means renovation. It’s transliteration (literal translation) is “new – up”, which is because renewing our mind is higher, upward thinking. “Transformed” is the Greek word metamorphoō, which is the same word used for the “transfiguration” of Christ. So when we renew our mind it’s actually a pretty big deal and is something God is pleased to see. This word is also where we get the word “metamorphosis”. Think of a caterpillar and how it goes through metamorphosis to become a butterfly – that is our mind when it is set on on Christ. Think of regular teenagers became powerful superheroes when they said “It’s morphin time!” – they became The Power Rangers through metamorphosis, that is our mind when it is stayed on Christ!

After each of these 4 principles I’m going to tell you a related benefits of loving one another. A benefit of loving one another in leadership is that it’s energizing when we do it with a renewed mind, also that then get in a good mood and even if we once had a crummy one. When we grudgingly do stuff, the experience sucks, but when we gladly to it, it’s great! Renewed mind service helps us be glad, so let’s renew our mind, and lead!

Obedience

Love is obedience. This one, we humans have historically had a difficult time with. We don’t like being told what to do. But the reality is that if we ought to yield to any authority, it would make the most sense to yield to the highest authority there is: the Being that created this reality for us and put us here, Being that loves us unconditionally, the Being that answers our prayers and more, right? That’s God Almighty! Jesus Chris said:

John 6:38 (KJV) – For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

Even Jesus the King had a boss. Like with any boss, I’m so thankful to be in God’s favor (and no longer opposite of His will).

John 8:29 (KJV) – And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

Act 10:38 (KJV) – How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

A benefit of loving one another in obedience is that God is with us. Isn’t it refreshing to know we’re not left high and dry out here in the world with no backup? Another benefit is having the full authority of Jesus Christ’s name when we carrying out God’s will, that means we can pray in the name of Jesus Christ and get results! That’s what being an ambassador for Christ is!

Valiance

Love is valiance. “Valiant” (Hebrew: ḥayil) is defined as “strength, might, efficiency, wealth, army” (blb.org). Being valiant means putting that definition into our dedication for the truth of God’s Word and spreading it to hungry hearts, whether they already know Jesus or not. “Army” may seem out of place here but “valiant” is used exclusively in the Old Testament, where believers went to war, so the word is fitting. Today, the battle is spiritual, so the army is the church, and the enemy is Satan and his kingdom. We can still be vigilant in today’s time because have Jesus Christ!

When the Word lives abundantly in our mind we have the capacity to love valiantly. Love dispels fear, so we can be fear free to show others who God is, what He’s done, and what they have the potential to do for themselves and others through faith.

Jesus Christ loved to serve, and he served to love. The Greek word for God’s love is agapē, and this love is not meant to be kept to ourselves, it’s mean to be shared. You know that phrase, “You can’t outgive God”? It’s the same with love. You can never run out of love: it’s an inexhaustible resource. It’s not like fuel, it’s like sunlight, and sunlight is energizing – just like how light nourishes and helps plants grow, love nourishes and helps us grow. Love nourishes us so that we can nourish others. The holy spirit restores our body and mind so that we can carry out the will of God.

Love takes strength, might, efficiency, wealth, an army (the united household) because the world rejects light. So, rely on God for these things. He endows us with them, and He’ll be there with you 9 times out of 10… No! Comprehension check – God will be there 10 times out of 10!

A benefit of loving one other with valiance is:

Psalm 37:3-5 (KJV) – Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Engagement

Love is engagement, being locked in. This means reaching out to one another. Spiritually speaking, love is not a feeling, it’s a decision.

God engaged us first by making us a part of something greater than ourselves – His family as His children, and He teaches us how to be better through His Word. We are family so we engage one another so that we together can abundantly thrive.

1 Corinthians 13 says more about what love is when it comes to engagement – not only with each other but also with ourselves.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV) – Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

And then the beginning of verse 8 says, “Love never fails.” This can be a numerated list of action steps we can take to walk in love more maturely and more consistently with others. See, God’s Word doesn’t just tell us WHAT to do, it teaches us HOW to do it. You can turn these 4 verses into “to dos” and set goals on each of them. For example, you can start with the one you want to work on the most progress through the list. You can pray for God’s help in exercising these things in your life, and you can seek out opportunity to engage – that’s believing action. The movie Evan Almighty gave a fantastic example of how God answers our prayers: watch here.

Love is kind. In my ministry, The Way International, when I participated in the evangelism/outreach program “Way Disciple”, I got to experience that cliche saying, “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” The first person I brought to fellowship during the program was a girl. And right after I led manifestations (people speaking in tongues, interpreting, and prophesying through the holy spirit), she seized the opportunity to share with us in tears that she felt like she was “at home.” We hadn’t even gotten to the teaching yet; we hadn’t even gotten the chance to demonstrate how much we knew! What we did have was the opportunity to show her how much we cared. What made her feel this way was not our knowledge, it was our love: God engaging through us to demonstrate love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, all fruit of the spirit – this is what she experienced and cherished from the moment she walked in the door.

The benefit of loving one another through engagement is showing them that the love of God is in stark contrast to the negativity which people regularly experience in this world. The love of God is healing, and it’s what we live to spread. Love is engagement, and the benefit is winning people to God’s squad, to the family.

Closing thoughts

Love is leadership, love is obedience, love is valiance, and love is engagement. Loving one another is a holy calling and a beautiful gift. So let’s love one another at full capacity. This is how Jesus Christ lived, this is how we can live, and this is the life that God has made for us. So let’s love one another even more, starting now! Love y’all!

---

Join our growing Facebook group here to share your thoughts, articles, ideas, and testimonies, and chat with others in the Words To The Power community! Also, consider supporting us and our mission!

Would you like to learn more about living with one accord with God? Check out the article Living “with one accord” in our actions (Super Bowl LV edition)!