Live Connected: Transformed LoveSample

It’s About Love

Christianity is not about how much we know but how much we love. Our faith is not an intellectual exercise or mechanical ritual but a passionate journey of affection toward our Creator. It’s not about being in love with learning about God. It’s about being in love with God; therefore, we learn about Him. Love is so important that it would be the centerpiece of the crown among the jewels of our faith.

Author C. S. Lewis once observed that many of us fall in love with Jesus, then we start talking about Him, and gradually fall in love with the talking, not with the Creator. It’s easy to become enamored with the craft instead of the Creator. Do we love our skills and tasks, or do we love Jesus and use our gifts in His service?

In Romans 12:9 we find a profound exhortation to “let love be without hypocrisy.” This type of love, agape, mirrors God’s perfect, unblemished love. The Greek word for hypocrisy here comes from the theater world, meaning “one playing a part.” Essentially, we are called to love authentically without concealing our true selves behind a mask.

The most significant detriment to Christianity is the hypocrisy of the believers who profess godliness yet hide behind masks of false piety. God’s love is robust and enduring enough to point out our flaws. It’s a love that prompts us to change, grow, and become more like Him.

God’s love is big enough to tell us when we’re straying, and we must be mature enough to listen. Do we love God enough to let Him correct us when we’re wrong? Do we love Him more than our sins? There are two types of people: those who love sin more than God and those who love God more than sin. Which one are you?

A practical way we can demonstrate love is through the gift of full attention. In a world where we often have “continuous partial attention,” divided among our phone, TV, conversations, and thoughts, true love calls for giving someone our complete focus. What would our relationships look like if we truly listened to each other without distractions?

We often look to celebrities for examples of success. Consider country singer Garth Brooks, who chose family over fame, pausing his successful career for 14 years to raise his daughters. He recognized the importance of being fully present in their lives, a beautiful reflection of the love we’re called to exhibit.

Our faith journey invites us to love without masks, to love with sincerity, and to love wholeheartedly. It’s not about intellectual mastery but about a deep, genuine affection for God, mirrored in our relationships with others. That’s the true jewel of Christianity.