The Way We Love Matters to God

Our Relationships Are One of the Places Our Faith Becomes Visible

Jesus Christ never intended our relationship with Him to affect only what happens between us and God. As we grow in Christ, something about the way we relate to people should begin to change too. We should become more patient, more willing to forgive, less determined to have our own way, and more aware of how our words and actions affect others. We won’t get it right all the time, but the love of Christ working in us should eventually become noticeable in the way we treat people.

Jesus made this connection very clear when He told His disciples:

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:34–35 (NLT)

That’s a pretty high standard because Jesus didn’t simply tell us to love people when they are easy to love. He said, “Just as I have loved you.” His love is patient and merciful. It serves. It forgives. It tells the truth. It doesn’t disappear the moment somebody disappoints Him. At the same time, the love of Jesus Christ is never weak, dishonest, or without wisdom. He could be incredibly compassionate and still tell someone the truth they needed to hear.

That matters because we sometimes confuse Christian love with keeping everybody happy. We can think loving someone means never saying no, never disagreeing, overlooking behavior that needs to be addressed, or remaining in relationships that continually cause harm. But that isn’t what Jesus showed us. There were people He embraced, people He corrected, people He served, people He confronted, and even times when He walked away. Love was present in all of it.

Learning to love people like Jesus Christ is something God develops in us over time. Our relationships give us plenty of opportunities to practice what we say we believe about grace, patience, forgiveness, humility, honesty, and service. They also require wisdom because not every relationship should have the same access to our lives. As we learn from Jesus Christ and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, we become better equipped to love people genuinely without losing the truth, wisdom, and boundaries that healthy relationships need.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“The Way We Love Matters to God”, written by Alex for findchristianman.wordpress.com. Copyright©2026. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord.