When I hear the word “love,” what do I picture? Love is a universal instrument that sustains human life in many different circumstances. It is a principle built by our Creator into the design of every living being. It is a special language of the heart and mind, understood by everyone living on our planet.
Like disease, love has many manifestations. The word is the same, but its actions differ, and each person requires an individual approach. The love I show each of my friends will differ according to the closeness of our relationship, the person’s character, age, sex, spiritual maturity, interests, and much more. At the heart of love is the desire to help, give, support, and make another person happy. Love looks for opportunities to do this—sometimes unconsciously, but usually deliberately.
When I try to squeeze the concept of love into a single definition and describe it by one action, I create a stereotype. I apply this stereotype to everyone without exception and expect specific actions from myself and others. When those actions do not come, I become disappointed in people, in myself, and in my love. But when I understand how many-sided love is, I look for its manifestations in myself and in others. If I see that love is absent, I turn to the One Who is Love, and He gives love freely and without objection.
It is very important to understand what love is and how it works. It is an immensely powerful and complex weapon in spiritual warfare. The enemy has no defense against it. But if I do not understand its capabilities, I risk overlooking its enormous potential and settling for a minimal set of functions sufficient for my personal safety, my family’s well-being, and a couple of friends.
Meanwhile, Heaven waits and cries out. With the gift of heavenly love, Jesus offers Himself. The Savior stands at the door of my heart and waits patiently. Do I hear His voice? I do. Will I open the door? That depends entirely on my decision.
Love—the conqueror
Love is the conqueror of the human heart. It sends its signals from an external control center, yet it waits to be invited, respecting freedom and choice.
When a broken heart thirsts for love and calls it into one’s life, love responds. It steadily strengthens its positions in a person’s character, making them firm and impregnable. It does not surrender its conquests to the enemy and waits for every opportunity to take possession of new territories of the soul and establish its laws there. It knows its goal and moves confidently toward it. Love shows the best way and always finds the best solution in every situation. It is not afraid of problems and does not stop in the face of difficulties. Love never retreats. When obstacles arise in its path, it may pause to gather strength and crush every barrier. It is like a pure mountain river flowing from the throne of grace into the lowlands to flood them. It carries life, happiness, and joy.
Love knows no defeat. It carries out an offensive operation, wisely planning each new advance. It never ceases and never runs dry. Its actions may go unnoticed, but they are constant. Though love possesses tremendous power, it treats the human will very gently and carefully, respecting each person’s choice. It patiently awaits the command to begin its next advance. Peace, rest, thanksgiving, and joy come with it. Love is the beginning of a new and better life, and it is what sustains that life. Everyone who possesses it becomes a conqueror to whom much is promised both in this earthly life and in eternity.
Love is fruit
Everyone in this world is given the gift of love to some degree, but many people do not understand the nature of God’s love or His character. They do not know how to use this gift and do not develop it. Believers in God, by contrast, consciously make use of the gift of His love. Through faith they bear fruit, although this process unfolds differently in each person.
Imagine a grapevine that produces only one cluster of grapes each year. You would say that this should not be so. If a grapevine is properly cared for, it will yield a larger and larger harvest year after year. God wants us to bear much fruit. Jesus said to His disciples, “I am the vine, ye are the branches” (John 15:5, KJV). We cannot consciously love independently of God. The world is full of songs about love. People know something about love, wait for it, and love in their own way. But the love described in the Bible is the heavenly fruit of the Holy Spirit, a character quality of heavenly origin. The genuine fruit of love in all its beauty will never grow in a person who does not follow Christ. A person may be gifted, sensitive, and compassionate, but the highest love comes from God alone.
This does not mean that everyone in the world is devoid of love. God “sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45, KJV). Rain is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, Who is poured out in measure even upon unbelievers because He loves them as His creation. But the fullness of love is given on the condition that it is consciously received. In its power, love is comparable to an atomic bomb and even surpasses it. Yet unlike an atomic bomb, which destroys and sweeps away everything in its path, love builds, creates, and lays a firm foundation in the hearts of those who love and those who are loved. God entrusts this incredible power to human beings and teaches them how to use it.
Spiritual real estate
What is real estate? It is something that is practically impossible to move: buildings, apartments, and parcels of land. When people invest their money in real estate, they know that this property is not going anywhere. The only things that can deprive owners of their property are its complete destruction through war or a natural disaster.
“Spiritual real estate” is something within me that has a firm foundation and is built day by day. It is my character, which is constructed according to the same laws as a brick house, but from different materials.
Spiritual real estate is built from primary and supporting materials. The supporting material is good deeds. Good deeds reveal what is taking place in my heart, but they do not reveal who I am. The fruit of the Holy Spirit reveals who I am within. Can evil people do good deeds? Yes. Can good people do good deeds? Yes. Is there a difference between these two groups if both do good deeds? There is, and it is very great, although it can often be seen only with spiritual discernment.
The value of all my deeds and accomplishments is determined solely by the love I put into each action. Suppose I decide to open a health retreat. I pray about it, find sponsors and staff, and welcome guests. Is this a good work? Yes, especially if people begin seeking Jesus after visiting my retreat and find Him. Does the good work I am doing count as my justification? No. Only my personal motive and my personal relationship with Christ in that work can be the basis of my justification.
Let us make the situation more difficult. The country’s leadership changes, and the new government decides to take my health retreat away from me. What will remain? Experience and memories. What else? My character, formed under the influence of the Holy Spirit. This is my true real estate. I am blessed if I understand this and invest every possible resource in building this spiritual house properly. It will stand if it has a firm foundation and is built from durable material.
Love is the primary, enduring material that gives my spiritual real estate its true value and makes it strong enough to withstand every trial. In the same way, all my earthly possessions and all my works become holy unto the Lord when love motivates me, when I dedicate everything to God, seek fellowship with Him, and rejoice in His presence in my life. Everything I dedicate to God in a spirit of love becomes His most precious property, and He places His seal of approval upon it.
Feeling or principle?
I am often asked whether love is a principle or a feeling. A principle without feeling is dry theory. A feeling without principle is unstable. Consider marriage as an illustration. You may experience a storm of emotion and delight in the presence of another person in your life, but that is not enough to build a family. Or you may understand the necessity and benefits of marriage without having any special feelings for the other person, hoping that feelings will arise after you start a family because you share the same faith and ministry. But this cannot be called the right approach either, because both feeling and principle are equally necessary for a happy marriage.
I have come to understand that love is neither a feeling nor a principle alone, but the union of both within my character. My character is who I am. God’s seal is placed upon the character that determines my conduct in different circumstances more fully than either principle or feeling by itself. It will be a joy to know that the Lord has written the commandment “Thou shalt love thy neighbour” in my heart, and that above it stands God’s seal, marked with the blood of Jesus Christ and placed there by His hand.
This was a very important revelation for me. I understood how important it is for love to define my character and become the driving force that directs my actions, thoughts, and feelings. God promises, “I will shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3, KJV). I did not know what love was until I began asking for that knowledge. When I began speaking about love, I became even more firmly established in it; and when I began writing about it, an even deeper understanding came. Now I know well how good, merciful, and wonderful the Lord is. Only He knows what awaits me ahead.
Happiness is the Kingdom of Heaven in the heart, and love is its manifestation. Eternity is worth fighting for and casting away everything impure! Let us love one another with a pure heart.
Love is the language of heaven
Love is the language of Heaven. We begin learning it when we realize that, by nature, we do not understand it and begin asking God for this gift. Jesus promised that we would speak “with new tongues” (Mark 16:17, KJV). He will be our Teacher. Without Christ, I will never understand this language, much less be able to speak it. Ask, and it shall be given you!
From personal experience, I can say that when God fills you with His love, you understand what is happening to you. You begin to see many things and to read people’s hearts like an open book. This is the language of Heaven, speaking from heart to heart. Sadly, however, to many people you become a foreigner.
The gift of love is worth fighting for. Love is worth surrendering all your stained garments to obtain.
Love is a daily decision
Love has a beginning but no end; it is the eternal continuation of our experience. It is not so much an emotion as a constant principle that permeates every sphere of human life and becomes the motive that guides our decisions.
Love is the daily decision to love your neighbor, your friend, and your enemy. Yesterday’s decision is not enough. It helps, but it does not determine what I will choose today. Jesus helps me make the right choice when I entrust my life to Him.
How wonderful it is to decide to love and then ask Jesus to place His seal upon that decision. And He does. Although I remain free to change my decision, I choose to love.
God is the standard of love
God Himself is the Author of love, and with this gift He offers Himself. He reveals Himself, inscribes His image upon the human heart, restores relationships, and becomes part of a person’s thoughts and feelings without depriving that person of freedom of choice.
He desires to save everyone, but not everyone wants to be saved. He is ready to give His love to everyone—but do you want to love? Are you ready to love? Do you understand what love is and what awaits you? When you receive it, trials will also enter your life to establish you in love. But do not be afraid. Jesus has experienced all of this, and He will teach you. Do not expect everyone to accept or believe you when they know what you used to be like. Do not expect immediate acceptance. It will come with time as a reward for your faith and perseverance. No one but Jesus knows what awaits you or what your life of love will become, but the fire of trial is guaranteed. Yet it will not harm you, and the flame will not scorch you. Jesus will always be near, and He will always ask you the same question: “Do you want to love this person today?” In response to your decision, He will give you strength and grace. He will also give you so many friends that you will simply be amazed.
Love is a conscious and purposeful action of the mind toward a particular person. Once that person has entered your life, it is no longer possible to be rid of him—and there is no need to do so.
Another name for love
How many names do we mention in the course of a day, a week, or a month? Yet there is one name that bears incredible power and authority: Jesus. There was a time in my life when I did not know this name and had no interest in it. Without knowing them personally, I considered those who bore it strange and downtrodden people.
Then light entered my life, illuminated my mind, and gave me hope for a better life. I became a believer in God’s mercy. I read books about God, came to know Him through my experiences, and discovered His power and authority. He introduced me to Jesus. He taught me to wage spiritual warfare and win victories, not by my own strength but by the power of Jesus. He taught me to resist the power of sin and live in the freedom purchased for me at the cost of the life of His beloved Son, Jesus. At some point in my life, Jesus became the Lord of my life. I myself gave Him this place in my heart, and every morning of each new day I ask Him to remain there.
I discover new and beautiful qualities of His character and marvel at how tender, tactful, wise, honest, pure, friendly, courteous, meek, kind, just, impartial, attentive, compassionate, responsive, sensitive, patient, pleasant, cheerful, calm, happy, benevolent, truthful, strong, and faithful He is. The list could go on and on. And He is my personal Friend. I have never heard His audible voice, but I hear it with my heart. My conscience knows Christ and trembles when He begins to speak to it. Sometimes I hear His voice and choose obedience. At other times, I sense His gentle influence in my heart but disregard it and continue on my own way; later I repent of my self-will. Yet He remains beside me and tenderly helps me continue forward.
Biblical truth is of great importance to me. I have read this Book of books extensively, and now what I have read comes to mind at the right time and in the right situation—to preserve me from trouble and evil, and to support, inspire, and encourage me. These words of life are always with me as my guide in a difficult situation and my hope when circumstances seem hopeless. Through the Bible, God speaks to my mind and heart and reveals Himself. Then, in daily life, He reminds me of everything I have read and helps me put it into practice. Yet I remain free to choose my own path. The Lord knows the final destination of my earthly journey and always leads me toward it, whatever the circumstances.
I know Jesus personally, have fellowship with Him, and entrust all my secrets to Him. I give Him all my cares and problems, and He gladly resolves them. He is my Friend, Whom I cherish and love deeply. He has never betrayed or abandoned me. He never grows tired of me and is always ready to spend as much time with me as I desire. He listens to everything I tell Him and never interrupts. He loves me with unconditional love. I see this, and it greatly strengthens me. Even when I cease to value myself in a difficult moment, He always respects me.
Christ teaches me the right habits and wants me to become like Him while preserving my individuality. He skillfully cleanses my heart of everything that displeases Him. At times it is very painful, but He is always near, assuring me that He has not rejected me, that He loves me, that He holds me by my right hand, and that He will not leave me.
Christ has welcomed me into His heart. He reveals the secrets of His soul to me and is not afraid to entrust me with knowledge of Himself. I now learn His love not from books but through my personal experience of life with Him and through my relationships with those around me. He shows me everything love endures when it declares itself, and how love remains patient and rejoices.
In love, God reveals His true character; and when I love, I understand what a loving God feels. Great in His perfect love, He comes down to my level and reveals what I am able to understand, receive, and apply in my busy life. Love is true life itself—its meaning and its crown. Where there is no love, there are emptiness, vanity, darkness, and anguish of spirit.
I desire Jesus to be the closest and best Friend in each of your lives. He knows how to beautify life and fill it with meaning. Everything that distracts us from Him and separates us from Him is useless vanity.
Rays of love
Love is like rays of sunlight that pierce the darkness yet remain invisible until they strike a surface. When they do, they illuminate it, warm it, and give life. In the same way, a loving person will remain unnoticed until the one he loves opens the windows of his soul and his heart.
Heavenly gold
Love is heavenly gold, a currency that every living being throughout the universe is required to accept. On this sinful earth, the currency has limited circulation. Everyone who possesses it can expect persecution, so any surplus of this currency and all profits from its circulation are kept in the heavenly Bank, where the account holder has unrestricted access at any hour of the day or night.
There are many counterfeits of Heaven’s currency. It is printed on clothing, sung about in songs, portrayed in movies, and spoken of with unclean lips. The world is tired of these counterfeits, yet it is not always ready to receive genuine love. But the Chief Treasurer of the universe requires all His clients to pay for everything with heavenly currency and allow Him to cover every loss. He teaches that it is better to make a mistake and pay too much than not to pay at all or to pay with counterfeit valuables.
The heavenly Bank is open to everyone. One of the principal requirements for opening an account is the complete acknowledgment that you have nothing, that you are naked and poor, and that you will take from the Bank only in order to give.
Friends, the doors are open. Come. Jesus is waiting!
We cannot deposit anything into the heavenly Bank. It operates like a bottomless pit: the more you take from it, the larger it becomes. Your account is measured by how much you have taken and given away. This is the treasure that can never perish. Heavenly mathematics differs noticeably from earthly mathematics.
1 + 1 = 1. An earthly family.
1 + 1 + 1 = 1. The heavenly Family.
1 − 1 = 2. Heavenly business.
9 > 10. Heavenly property.
Our heavenly treasure is determined by how much love we have taken in order to bring joy to someone’s heart, speak the truth, and reveal God’s image to others. All our good deeds will be evaluated by how thoroughly I have emptied Heaven’s vault of love. Heaven’s reserves are as inexhaustible as the ocean.
In Revelation 3, the faithful and true Witness named “the Amen” counsels us to buy gold tried in the fire so that we may become rich. This gold symbolizes the heavenly love that we lack. That is why we are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. What a faithful testimony!
Today is the time to consider what Heaven is offering us. We are counseled to buy this treasure. What can we pay for such riches? The only things Heaven is willing to accept are our stained garments and our thirst for everything pure, holy, and eternal. In return, Jesus promises that we will dine with Him, where there will be an abundance of delicious and nourishing food: the Bible, the Spirit of Prophecy, personal testimonies, and experiences.
Filled with love
Matthew 25 contains the parable of the ten virgins. They fall into two categories: the wise, who have oil, and the foolish, who do not.
We are accustomed to thinking that oil in the Bible symbolizes the gift of the Holy Spirit. Personally, I have found that this interpretation prevents me from looking further. Please forgive me, but I will offer one more definition of the oil: agape love.
In chapter 7 of the same Gospel, we read Christ’s words: “I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:23, KJV). The same words are addressed to the five foolish virgins. Love is the fulfilling of the law. The person who loves has fulfilled the law.
Love cannot be learned quickly; it is learned over a lifetime. For this reason, we cannot transfer our love to another person. God’s love identifies me as belonging to Jesus. Through love, Jesus works within me, gives me the right thoughts, and speaks through me to those around me. He calls loving people wise because they have grasped the mystery of divine guidance in their lives and have come to know God within themselves.
The parable of the wise virgins echoes the message to the Laodicean church in Revelation 3, where Jesus counsels us to buy love and righteousness from Him while there is still time. He also says that He stands at the door and knocks, hoping that we will hear His knock and let Him in while the door remains open. Once the door closes forever, no one will be able to learn to love.
Love is a relationship
Love is the most proper attitude toward people and the foundation of right relationships between them. When such relationships are established, they endure forever. God is glorified when we love one another. He gives this love, and He blesses these relationships.
What does the enemy of the human soul do during this time? He prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking every opportunity to steal, kill, and destroy. He tries to convince people that genuine love does not exist and that we will never be able to love as God expects us to love. Satan continually agitates the minds of those around us so that they accuse the person who loves them of hypocrisy. Yet you continue to love, because love never fails and never ceases. It brings many painful experiences into our lives, but after passing through every trial, we become stronger and more confident.
Love is not a land of pink hearts but a path of special trials, painful experiences, and victories—experiences that add gray hairs, temper a person’s character, and make you responsive, friendly, and joyful.
As long as there is no close contact with another person, your love may go unnoticed. But when you touch that person’s inner world and open your own heart, love begins to act and reveal itself. It respects the other person’s freedom while seeking a path to that person’s heart. Every person is unique and requires an individual approach. People with different characters and life stories understand different languages of love, or they may be forever closed to its voice.
For example, if I try to love Satan, where will that love lead me? I do not think I can expect love in return. But I will learn to respect him as a personal being while hating his deeds. I am not suggesting friendship with demons, but it is right to treat the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms with respect. They have the power to tempt those who receive them and are superior to us in many respects. My insults and mockery directed at them could complicate my life, which is already full of trials. Through my ignorance, I could draw their attention to myself and come under a special attack. But my respect for their freedom and my understanding of their status will protect me from their assaults.
We know that we must treat every earthly authority with respect and obey the laws until they come into conflict with God’s commands. God expects us to obey and respect every earthly authority and law. The same principle is appropriate in the spiritual realm.
People around us may be possessed and controlled by unclean spirits. They may be so closely bound to the powers of darkness that they will never escape their influence—not because deliverance is inherently impossible, but because they have chosen such a life and have no intention of changing that choice. Jesus counsels us not to give that which is holy unto the dogs or cast our pearls before swine (see Matthew 7:6), but He does not teach us to turn away from such people and become their enemies, giving them occasion for evil thoughts. Even if Heaven were to pour out every blessing upon these unfortunate people, they would not repent, and this must be taken into account. Yet by their very existence, they can teach us unconditional love that never fails. We may have to carry the pain of rejection throughout our lives, but we must respect these people’s choice.
Love does not stop; it sees new prospects for victory. And, of course, it flourishes where it is received, valued, and awaited. It has an inexhaustible source of strength in God.
To love is the most fascinating undertaking in a Christian’s life. It reveals the depths of my heart and shows me my dependence on God. But the Lord does not drag me onto this path or force me to love. Instead, He gently counsels me to buy from Him everything necessary for victory and to open the door of my heart so that He may reign there. Come, Lord! May my heart be filled with You!