1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV: “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

1. Love requires sacrifice Agape love is a giving love, entirely unselfish. (Cambridge Dictionary) Relationships aren’t all about our personal preferences.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Love is patient & kind Love doesn't envy or boast & isn't arrogant or rude Love doesn't insist on its own way Love rejoices in the Truth When we put our preferences aside, we see people over problems.

2. Love isn’t based on a feeling.

Matthew 26:39 NIV: “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV: “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

Oxytocin is the chemical that makes relationships stronger. Oxytocin is linked to partner interaction and emotional presence that bonds the couple. (Source: National Institute of Health) We can’t love sacrificially without knowing God’s love for us.

3. Love has a purpose.

John 13:34-35 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.”

BIG IDEA: Loving others should point to how God loves us. There is a battle for our love, not against one another, but against the enemy of our souls.

TO LIVE A LOVE THAT POINTS BACK TO JESUS

1. Write down ways in which God has loved YOU.

2. Speak the Truth of His Word.

3. Ask God for Guidance.

Psalm 25:4-5 NIV: “Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”