Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (I John 4:8 ESV)
The Fruit of the Spirit: Love
Yes, love is a command. Jesus, in fact, summarizes all of God’s law with the command to love (Matthew 22:34-40).
Yes, love is a choice. We are told to love one another (Romans 12:10).
Yes, love is a feeling (I Corinthians 13:3).
But love is also a result of being loved by Christ. Non-Christians do not know what love is, although they imitate it. Those who have not known the only true source of love, God, cannot know what love really is.
But we DO know! And more than that, we actually can love.
It is often hard to express, act, and feel in a loving way. We do not want to, preferring selfishness as we do. We do not want to, preferring to be loved rather than love. We do not want to, preferring inward focus to outward focus.
But we can love.
It is a fruit of being a Christian.
And I find that there is love in Christians, even when it is not easy to see. Even in ourselves.
Look under the leaves and find it. See, and rejoice, when you can choose, even a little, to love your annoying, hurtful sibling. See, and rejoice, when you can choose, even a little, to love your scoundrel spouse. See, and rejoice, when you can choose, even a little, to forgive, to laugh, to enjoy, to help, to enable, to challenge, to encourage, to listen, to speak… to do all of those (and more) love things.
You can love, if you are a Christian.
Because love is a fruit.