Everyone wants to be loved. It’s a fundamental human need.
It doesn’t matter how much money, power, or fame we may have, we still need to know that someone loves us. And if that need goes unfulfilled, nothing else in our lives seems to work the way it should.
But love is not something we can buy or command from others. It must be freely given or it’s not real love. So, what can we do to gain the love from others we so desperately need?
The Bible gives a very simple answer to that question:
Galatians 6:7 (NKJV) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
The way to attract love is to first give it! In that way love is like a farmer’s crop – in order to reap a harvest, you must first plant the same type of seeds.
Here’s another way the Bible says the same thing:
Proverbs 18:24 (NKJV) A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
But there’s a very important caveat:
Romans 12:9 (NIV) Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Our love must be sincere, not a manipulative attempt to make somebody love us back!
We can’t love in order to be loved; that way lies disappointment and frustration. What the Bible is telling us is that if we plant seeds of sincere, unselfish love into the lives of other people, we will reap love in return.
What does unselfish love look like?
Philippians 2:3-4 (NKJV) Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Sincere love does not seek for itself, but puts the interests of another person before its own. And that kind of love always receives a response!
Ron Franklin
