love

The Bible says in John 15:13, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Jesus was telling His disciples to give up the things they wanted to do and to give of themselves to others. He said that there is no greater love than this. We can give of ourselves with prayer. We can give of ourselves with time. We can give of ourselves with love and understanding.

You should let the Spirit guide you when you begin a friendship as well as when you end it.

The basis for a close friendship should always be common faith and beliefs. A friendship will thrive when both parties are on the same life path.

When the path begins to go in different directions regarding things of faith, it may be time to seek close friendship with others. Again, this is a matter between you and the Spirit inside you. Seek His guidance.

You can’t change unlovable people. You can’t even “deal with” them. But you can develop your love until you can love them just the way they are.

Loving people—no matter how badly they act, no matter how rotten their attitude—is something you can do. And you do it by faith. You do it in the same way that you grow anything that comes by faith: You plant the seeds, water them and let God give the increase of love.

Have you ever wondered what faith and love have to do with one another? Galatians 5:6 says, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”

Faith works by love. It is energized by love. Faith is put into motion by love. Why is that? Well, most of us are probably familiar with the Apostle Paul’s teaching on love in 1 Corinthians 13. But as we read verses 1-3 in The Amplified Bible, I want us to focus on the faith-love connection.

Marriage and the intimacy that goes along with marriage is a blessing to husbands and wives, a gift from God Himself. Yes, God made sex for procreation, but He also created it as a physical pleasure to be enjoyed as part of His plan for the marriage covenant. Sex with your spouse is something you can not only enjoy today, but something that you can look forward to becoming better and better over time as you grow closer to each other.

We are often asked if a Christian can seek a divorce and if a divorced Christian can remarry. The truth about these matters is that there are no generic answers to these questions. In other words, we cannot say it is always right or always wrong for a Christian to seek a divorce, or for a divorced Christian to remarry.

The purpose of dating for a Christian should be to find a life partner to marry. It should by no means be taken lightly or casually.

As such, it is important to approach dating prayerfully and with wisdom. With such an important life decision before you, seeking counsel from strong Christians—including parents, friends and pastors—will enable you to make that decision with confidence.