More Like Jesus: Reflections on Love

By Peter Amsterdam

November 3, 2020

Love for Others

As we come to the end of this More Like Jesus—Reflections series, the focus in this compilation is on loving others. When Jesus was asked which commandment was the greatest, He stated that loving God is the first and great commandment; and then added, A second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39). Loving others is fundamental to our lives as Christians. Following is a collection of quotations which offer some helpful thoughts on the topic.

“When we show love to others, God’s presence is with us.”—Linda Evans Shepherd

“The first secret to loving others is to immerse yourself in a love relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—and abide there.”—Anne Graham Lotz

“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did.”—C. S. Lewis

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”—Attributed to Mother Teresa

“Let us learn to live with kindness, to love everyone, even when they do not love us.”—Pope Francis

“Never procrastinate in showing love. Don’t delay. Don’t put it off. Do it now.”—Rick Warren

“When we are in touch with God’s joy and peace in us, then we become whole and holy persons. Like living torches, we radiate the light and heat of God’s compassionate love.”—Mark Yaconelli

“Loving others isn’t about us at all. And until that sinks in, we’ll never be able to love the way Christ truly loved.”—Jarrid Wilson

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”—Martin Luther King Jr.

“Whatever a person may be like, we must still love them because we love God.”—John Calvin

“When we make a true commitment to walk in love, it usually causes a huge shift in our lifestyle. Many of our ways—our thoughts, our conversation, our habits—have to change.”—Joyce Meyer

“Are you angry with someone? Pray for that person. That is what Christian love is.”—Pope Francis

“God teaches us to love by putting some unlovely people around us. It takes no character to love people who are lovely and loving to you.”—Rick Warren

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.”—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“Theology without love simply is very bad theology.”—Paul David Tripp

“Christian love must be chased after, aspired to, and practiced.”—Gary L. Thomas

“Measure not God’s love and favour by your own feeling. The sun shines as clearly in the darkest day as it does in the brightest. The difference is not in the sun, but in some clouds which hinder the manifestation of the light thereof.”—Richard Sibbes

“The best use of life is love. The best expression of love is time. The best time to love is now.”—Rick Warren

“Love is not only something you feel, it is something you do.”—David Wilkerson

“More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all the theological arguments in the world.”—William Barclay

“The world does not understand theology or dogma, but it understands love and sympathy.”—Dwight L. Moody

“Where love is, God is.”—Unknown

“What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.”—St. Augustine

“In the New Testament, love is more of a verb than a noun. It has more to do with acting than with feeling. The call to love is not so much a call to a certain state of feeling as it is to a quality of action.”—R. C. Sproul

“Learning to love unselfishly is not an easy task. It runs counter to our self-centered nature.”—Rick Warren

“Lord, help us to live the virtue of generosity, to love without limits.”—Pope Francis

“To love someone means to see him as God intended him.”—Fyodor Dostoevsky

“Those in the circle of Christ had no doubt of his love; those in our circles should have no doubt about ours.”—Max Lucado

“God is no further from you on your worst day than He is on your best day. Just open your heart to receive Him and His love.”—David Jeremiah

“The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.”—C. S. Lewis

“Faith makes all things possible ... love makes all things easy.”—Dwight L. Moody

“God hates loneliness, and community is God’s answer to loneliness. When we walk alongside other people, we find a community where we learn how to love.”—Rick Warren

“God is love, and that love works through men—especially through the whole community of Christians.”—C. S. Lewis

“Being a disciple means being constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others, and this can happen unexpectedly and in any place: on the street, in a city square, during work, on a journey.”—Pope Francis

“It’s not complicated. Just love the one in front of you.”—Heidi Baker

“Love is and has always been His idea. He came to love us and to teach us how to love. When we do this, life is exciting, beautiful and rewarding.”—Joyce Meyer

“The first duty of love is to listen.”—Paul Tillich

“Love pays attention. Love listens to the fears and the doubts of others and treats them with respect. Love accepts others the way Jesus accepts you.”—Rick Warren

“In the poor and outcast we see Christ’s face; by loving and helping the poor, we love and serve Christ.”—Pope Francis

“The world is not a playground; it is a schoolroom. Life is not a holiday, but an education. And the one eternal lesson for us all is how better we can love.”—Henry Drummond

“If we want the advantages of love, then we must be willing to take the risks of love. And that requires vulnerability. Of course, we can refuse this path and trod another one devoid of openness. But the toll on such a road is extremely high.”—Charles Swindoll

“Love is worthless unless it acts out, unless it’s expressed in deed and behavior.”—David Jeremiah

“You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love.”—Henry Drummond

“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”—Mother Teresa

“The beautiful simplicity of our faith is that it distills down to the exact same bottom line for both the brilliant theologian and the five-year-old child: love God and love each other—period.”—Richard Stearns