Merriam-Webster’s dictionary says love “is a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties.” Our love is supposed to be meaningful and powerful, yet we still don’t fully understand it. Furthermore, the definition cited above only broadly defines what love actually is.

Love is one of those words we tend to use to let others know we sincerely care for them. However, we also love differently depending on who or what it is regarding. I love my new lawn mower, but I love my children differently. Furthermore, I love my wife differently than my children, and I love my best friend differently than I love my brother or sister. But what about strangers or even your enemies?

The Use of Love in the Bible Explained

Understanding how the word love is used in the Bible is essential. Unlike the English language, which uses one-word love to express affection on different levels, the New Testament was written in Greek. The Greeks used four other words to describe different meanings of love. The two most widely used throughout the Bible are agapao / agape and phileo. Agapao / agape suggested a self-sacrificial or unconditional type of love, while phileo was more of a friendly kind of love. For example, agapao / agape is used in John 3:16 and 1 John 4:10 to describe how much God loved the world, so much that he gave his only Son to die for our salvation.

What Does the Bible Have to Say About what Love is?

Keep in mind that throughout the following passage, agapao / agape is the word translated to love. The Bible is obvious as to what love is in 1 John 4:7-10. John says, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

There you have it. John is able to define love in just three words, “God is love.” To me, that is an incredibly meaningful and powerful definition. The verse then proves the sacrificial love by reminding us of Jesus’s ultimate sacrifice. If we are to love as God loved us, then we must be willing to love him by giving our lives to him by devoting ourselves to Christ. Love is more than a “strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties” because “love comes from God.”

Wait, We Are Supposed to Love Everyone? Even our Enemies?

Trust me, I am not judging you, but I have been there and understand this quandary! The notion that we should love others unconditionally as we love God can be a tough pill to swallow for some. It was for me at first. If you go as far as to say that you hate someone, then I should be so bold to say that you need to hear this more than anyone. I have had in-depth debates about this because I struggled to love (agape) others, especially someone who has done me wrong. But the truth is that we can still love them and not necessarily have to associate with them.

You must remember that God loves you even though you are a sinner. You have, at one point or another, disappointed, disobeyed, or broken one or more of his commandments, in other words, sinned, yet he still loves you! I have done things that some people might have a hard time forgiving me for, but guess what? God has. Not only has he forgiven me, but he agapao’s me. The same applies to you!

I understand the difficulty of accepting this, but Jesus was clear in John 15:12 that “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” And Jesus loved you so much that he offered himself as a sacrifice in one of the most brutal deaths one could imagine just so that you and I could be forgiven! God isn’t asking you to invite them to your birthday party or even that you have to become their friend. But you do need to love them. Think of it like this, if you came up to a bad car accident and ran up to help only to find it was your worst enemy with severe injuries, would you go back to your car and drive away? No! I hope you would at least call 911 and try to offer some reassuring words. Indeed, if you had medical training of any kind, you would try to stabilize them till the paramedics showed up. Even if they were someone that truly hurt you in some way in the past, agapao changes everything. When I was serving overseas, there were scenarios when the Al-Qaeda or Taliban militant that was just trying to kill us and our brothers and sisters in arms became injured. We could have left them for dead or even finished them off ourselves out of pure anger, but we didn’t. We tended to their injuries just as we would our own. Although at the time it was difficult to agree, it was the right thing to do. We were not murderers, we are Soldiers! But more importantly, we are to love everyone, even our worst enemies.

The Ten Commandments are the laws and moral principles Jesus told us to follow as believers. Although there are ten commandments, Jesus was specific about the two most important commandments of all. In Matthew 22:35-40, Jesus is questioned by the Pharisees, “One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” I should also mention that Jesus also said, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:10).

We understand that we should love God with all of our hearts, soul, and mind, but why should we love others? In short, whether they are friends, family, strangers or our worst enemy, if we love them, we wouldn’t do things that would be hurtful toward them. At least not on purpose. You are not as likely to steal from, covet against, adulterate, murder or hurt (emotionally or physically) someone that you love, especially when you understand what love is. We should be kind to one another, and though we may struggle with this, we can still love them.

Folks, all I am saying is to be humble, get over your hate, and forgive! When you forgive, you can love. God did it for you, a sinner, so why can’t you do it for someone else? When God forgives you, he no longer rakes you over the coals for your wrongdoings. Instead, he loves you unconditionally. There is no other love more powerful than that from God, who IS love. As Christians, we should try harder to walk as Jesus did. The world can make it seem hard to do so, but I promise it will change your whole perspective and even your life when you try. We will never be perfect because we are flesh and born as sinners, but we have been given a second chance…take it. Take it, love all, and never look back.