But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

I recently saw a bumper sticker with the words “Love Wins.” I can’t be sure of what the bumper sticker meant to the person who placed it, but it is true that love wins in the end. But what is love?

This weekend a friend showed me some extensive notes on a word study she did from a passage of Scripture. Another friend reads the Amplified Bible to gain as much meaning as possible from a passage. So, what is love?

I’ll use a few words here to describe love and the first is compassion. In Romans, Paul declared that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

That leads me to another word – sacrifice. Galatians 1:4 reminds us “Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.”

And so we should respond to Christ’s love for us by serving others – “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace (1 Peter 4:8-10).”

Remember love doesn’t turn a blind eye to someone in trouble – “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6: 1-2).”

Love does win when we reflect the work of Christ in our daily lives.

I could write about and reference many more thoughts on love from Scripture. What would you add?