What Does Love Actually Look Like?

Love is one of the most talked about topics in the world, but what does it actually look like in practice? According to the apostle Paul, love is not just a feeling or a nice idea. It is something you do, something you practice, and it always looks like Jesus.

Why Did the Holy Spirit Give Us Spiritual Gifts?

Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He gave His followers a team responsibility: to draw people from all over the world into His family. He also made a promise. He told them He would not leave them alone.

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." - Acts 1:8

The same Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus at His baptism wants to empower every follower of Jesus today. The gifts the Spirit gives are not for personal glory. They are for strengthening the body of Christ, the community of believers, until Jesus returns and makes everything right.

What Happens When Spiritual Gifts Are Used Without Love?

In the early church, the Christians in Corinth were excited about spiritual gifts. Speaking in tongues, prophecy, miraculous faith. But some were using these gifts in ways that drew attention to themselves rather than building up others.

Paul addressed this directly:

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." - 1 Corinthians 13:1

He went even further. Even if someone had faith to move mountains, or gave away everything they owned, or surrendered their life as a sacrifice, but did it to boast rather than to love, it would count for nothing. The gift without love is empty.

Is Love a Feeling or an Action?

This is where the original language of the Bible gives us something important. In Greek, Paul does not describe love using adjectives. He uses verbs. Love is not simply a state of being. It is a practice, a series of choices made over and over again. Here is what love actually does, drawn from 1 Corinthians 13:

Page 1 of 3• Love practices patience. When you are hungry and the food is ready, love puts your own appetite on hold to wait for others. That is a real, daily practice.

• Love practices kindness. It notices when someone feels out of place or unsafe and takes responsibility to care for them.
• Love celebrates others. It can rejoice in someone else's win without jealousy or whining.
• Love shares credit. It does not brag or seek to be the center of attention.
• Love serves with its strength. It does not ask "what about me?" when others are present.
• Love does not keep score. When someone lets you down, love can say "that hurt" without plotting
• revenge.
• Love rejoices in truth. It is not entertained when people get away with wrong. It celebrates when the powerful help the forgotten.
• Love tolerates through everything. This is not the same as being a doormat. Love keeps faith, keeps hope, and keeps going even when people do things that make you want to walk away.

What Does Love Look Like in Real Life?

Love looks like Jesus. Always.

Jesus loved and obeyed the Father. He loved and modeled for His first followers how to live. He loved the world and gave His life for it. Every description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 is a description of how Jesus lived and how He calls His followers to live. When we receive power from the Holy Spirit, we are not meant to become impressed with ourselves. That is the beginning of every superhero origin story, and it is also the beginning of spiritual immaturity. Paul says that kind of thinking is childish. Growing up in faith means using your gifts not to draw attention to yourself, but to serve others in love.

Are Spiritual Gifts Permanent?

Spiritual gifts are for a season. They are given to strengthen the body of Christ while we wait for Jesus to return and restore all things. When that day comes, prophecy will no longer be needed because we will see clearly. Tongues will cease because our deepest longings will be fully satisfied. Healing will no longer be necessary because we will be raised from the dead, never to get sick or hurt again.

But love does not expire. Love does not fall flat. We love one another now, and we will love one another still, and even better, in eternity. "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:13

How Do We Grow in Love?

The Holy Spirit wants to empower every believer to become an imitator of Jesus. That is the goal. Not just to have impressive spiritual experiences, but to love the way Jesus loved. To serve the way Jesus served. To stay when it is hard, to celebrate others when it costs something, and to keep going when people disappoint you. This kind of love is not automatic. It requires the power of the Holy Spirit and a daily decision to practice it.

Life Application

This week, choose one specific way to practice love as an action, not just a feeling. Pick one person in your life, whether it is someone at home, at work, at church, or even someone who has let you down, and intentionally do one of the things Paul describes. Practice patience. Share credit. Celebrate their win. Serve with your strength without asking what is in it for you.

Ask yourself these questions as you go into the week:

1. Am I using the gifts and abilities God has given me to build others up, or to draw attention to myself?
2. Is there someone in my life I have been keeping score with instead of extending grace?
3. What would it look like for me to love that person the way Jesus loves me?
4. Am I growing in love, or am I still thinking about faith mostly in terms of what I can get or experience?
5. The Holy Spirit is ready to empower you. The question is whether you will use that power to serve others in love, the way Jesus always did.