How often every day do you say the word “love”? Some of us probably say it hundreds of times! Some people say they love pizza, others say they love the weather. Maybe you compliment someone on her shirt, saying how much you love it. Maybe when you talk about your favorite television show or song, you use “love” to describe how much you enjoy it.

This is not what the Bible means when it says, “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,” etc. It’s good to enjoy the things around you, but the Bible, in Galatians 5, highlights a different kind of love. The Holy Spirit grows love in followers of Christ, love that comes from God. This kind of love, called agape love, is unconditional and never-ending. It’s not based on what someone does or feels. It is a conscious choice, instead of something that just happens.

There is a reason that love is first among all of the fruits of the Holy Spirit of God within His people. It is the one that all of the other fruits flow out of. If you don’t have love, you’re going to have difficulty being kind or gracious or gentle. Love is those qualities, as it says in 1 Corinthians 13. And if we have God’s love, which never fails, we will make a difference in our world for Jesus. This kind of love is world-changing!                                                                                                This is Luis Palau.