How Do I Know If It’s True Love?

If you’ve been dating someone for a while and you really like them, you may

start asking yourself, Is this love? How do I know? The Bible has tons to

say about loves of all kinds, including romantic, friendship, and familial.

The Bible also says, God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). Jesus demonstrated

God’s amazing love for us by dying on the cross for our sins and rising

again so that we can be saved and live with Him forever. Overcoming death

and sin is a huge demonstration of love, but how do we relate Jesus’s love

and actions to those of our significant other?

Love should look like Jesus. Does your partner treat you and others with

compassion, mercy, kindness, patience, selflessness, and humilitythe way

Jesus treated those around Him? It sounds like a tall order, but true love

includes all those things. Yes, none of us are perfect, so we won’t display

all these attributes of love all the time, but the Holy Spirit moves us

toward them. As we seek to follow Jesus, the fruit of the Spirit’s work

should be present in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). It might be easier to

ask, Does my significant other value becoming more like Jesus each day?

And do I become more like Jesus when I spend time around my partner? Would

my partner give in a self-sacrificing way?

The person you’re dating might be fun to hang out with, but if you’re

thinking about marrying a person, your relationship should reflect the

relationship that Jesus has with His church. Jesus demonstrated a deep

affection for us, His people, and He hasn’t abandoned us to be on our own.

He invites us to rely on His help and

guidance in every decision we face.

If you’ve made it to the end of this devotion and you’re still not sure

about any of this, that’s okay! Dating and falling in love isn’t always a

straight path, but you can trust that God’s love for you will always be a

steady relationship. ⦠Naomi Zylstra

⦠Who is someone you love (such as a friend, family member, or significant

other)? How does this love reflect the love Jesus has for us?

⦠What does self-sacrificing love look like to you?

⦠The Bible tells us that Christians should not seek to marry

non-Christians (1 Corinthians 7:39; 2 Corinthians 6:14). Why do you think

this is the case?

But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:8

(NLT)

Read Verses:

1 Corinthians 13:4-1 Corinthians 13:7; 1 John 4:8