The God’s love is authentic love and the Christian is called to manifest it.

“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.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Love is patient: if I have feelings for someone but lack patience with them, it means I do not love them.

If I get irritated whenever people make me wait, regardless of the extent of my gifts in the church and the level of my faith, the Bible says I do not have love… How do I know if I love? I love when I am patient with God, when I patiently wait for Him to fulfill His promise. I know I love when I no longer get irritated by others’ attitudes: love is patient.

Take each of the different characteristics of love mentioned in this passage one by one, and thus evaluate whether you manifest love or not; so we can say that loving your neighbor is being patient with your loved ones, it is doing good to them. It is refusing to suspect evil, but believing in them. It is seeking the interest of others and not just one’s own, etc.

So, increasing one’s love is increasing each of these characteristics towards God and towards others. I increase my love by being more and more patient, less and less irritable, more and more kind, etc. We must not ask for love, but work on its manifestation.

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

Can I teach a dog to speak English? Can I teach my son to fly like a bird? Of course not! It is not possible for us to develop an ability if it is not already within us. My dog cannot speak English because language is not in him… my son cannot fly because humans do not possess that ability. Similarly, we cannot ask you to love or increase your love if love is not already within you.

God’s love is within you. My child can speak English, Mandarin, Russian, etc. because language is within him. But he must develop it if he wants to be able to express himself in the language. Similarly, love can only be expressed if you develop it. My child may have the best linguistic abilities, but if he does not work on language, he will not develop. Whatever your good intentions, if you do not develop love, it will remain ineffective as if it did not exist within you.

If you have converted to Christ, then know that God has already given you love. Love is within you, you just have to manifest it. Do not seek it outside of yourself, but rather within yourself. And this is where the Holy Spirit helps you. It is He, that water flowing within you, who as a Comforter, heals you of your emotional wounds, purifies your being, and causes love to overflow.

Like Esther, guided by Hegai, to be presented to the king, the Holy Spirit teaches us to love God, by developing in us the various characteristics of love, which are also the fruit of the Spirit.

This text is an excerpt from the book “UNSATISFIED? Enter the dimension of the Bride of Christ” written by Mohammed SANOGO.

We invite you to read the following article: “The superficial love of the chritian“.

God’s love.