According to the bible, Love is the greatest of things (1 Corinthians 13:13). Therefore, it is appropriate that we include a page that covers the various facets of love that the bible teaches us.

To start with, the bible defines "LOVE" at 1 Corinthians chapter 13:4-7
Love is always patient and kind; love is never jealous, love is never boastful or conceited, it is never rude and never seeks its own advantage, it does not take offence or store up grievances. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing but finds its joy in the truth. It is always ready to make allowances, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. (New Jerusalem Bible)

This is a thorough definition of love, and it can seem a bit intimidating when we try to follow it to the letter! However, since love is the greatest of things, we need to do our best to have love and display it. Everything we do in our daily living must be done with the element of love involved (1 Corinthians 16:14).

Love is one of the fruits of the spirit (Galatians 5:22), which makes sense because God is a spirit (John 4:24) and He is love (1 John 4:8, 16),and love is from God (1 John 4:7). God loves us (Ephesians 2:4). We must imitate God by walking in love (Ephesians 5:1). This is why we are commanded to love others (Leviticus 19:18,34, Deuteronomy 10:19, Matthew 19:19, Matthew 22:39, John 13:34, John 15:17), even our enemies (Matthew 5:43-46, Luke 6:27). We are also to love the laws of Yahweh (Proverbs 4:1-6). If we love Christ, we will observe his commandments (John 14:15,23-24, John 15:9-10, 1 John 5:3, 2 John 6). And of course, we are to love God with our whole heart, soul and mind (Deuteronomy 6:5, 10:12, Deut. 11:1, 13,22, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30). God will not forget love shown in His name (Hebrews 6:10). Christ's disciples will have love among themselves (John 13:34).
Love covers over all transgressions (Proverbs 10:12, Proverbs 17:9, 1 Peter 4:8). Love is upbuilding (1 Corinthians 8:1). Love does not work evil to one's neighbor (Romans 13:10). Our love must be without hypocrisy (Romans 12:9). Love is better than riches (Proverbs 15:17). We must have brotherly love for one another (Romans 12:10, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, Hebrews 13:1). The only thing we really owe one another is love (Romans 13:8).We must remember to show love to those who have sincerely repented from their sins (2 Corinthians 2:5-10).
Although having gifts of the spirit is good, those are nothing if you don't have love as well (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Though we may seek spiritual gifts, we must always remember to pursue love (1 Corinthians 14:1, 1 Timothy 6:11, 2 Timothy 2:22). We must put up with one another in love (Ephesians 4:1-2). Love is a perfect bond of union (Colossians 3:14).We are to incite each other to love and fine works (Hebrews 10:24). Though we are to show love, we are not to show favoritism (James 2:8). He that does not love is as good as dead (1 John 3:14).

The above plethora of scriptures may seem exhausting when trying to live by love in every way. However, it isn't as hard as it seems: Just show a loving attitude towards all people in all things and you'll automatically fulfill the love. Granted, this isn't always easy, but don't let a slip-up set you back. Just pick yourself back up and get back into the love.

There are many examples throughout the bible that show the different ways to display love towards others. Here are a few examples:

An example of parental love is in 1 Kings 3:16-27. This is the account of two prostitutes who shared a home. Each had a baby boy at about the same time. One morning, one of the women awoke to find her baby dead. So she switched babies with her roommate, pretending the living baby was hers. The roommate awoke to find the trickery, and the two began arguing about it. They took the problem to wise king Solomon. Each woman claimed the living son to be hers. Solomon didn't know any other way to resolve it, so he decreed that the living child be severed in two, and each woman be given half. At once the real mother begged the king to give the whole boy alive to the other woman. Meanwhile, the other woman said "go ahead and sever the child!". By the reaction, the king realized who the real mother was, because she loved her son enough to give him to another woman in order to save his life. Thus he halted the killing and gave the living baby to her. The other woman was obviously not his mother because she didn't care that he'd be killed. The real mother showed great love to her son, because she was willing to live the rest of her life without him to save him. The consequences to herself meant nothing to her.

An example of our love towards our God is shown in the book of Acts. Starting in Acts 6:5 with a faithful man named Stephen. He was a man full of holy spirit, and he had the gifts of signs and wisdom (Acts 6:8-9). This was upsetting the false religious leaders at the time, and he was arrested because of his love and zeal for Yahweh (Acts 6:10-12). Eventually, he was stoned to death for his beliefs (Acts 7:54-8:1). Stephen stayed faithful to God to the very end. This is a wonderful example of showing love for our God in spite of the hardships and persecutions we incur for it.

An example of brotherly love is shown in a well-known parable that Jesus told. This is at Luke 10:25-37. For those who may be unfamiliar with the story, here is a brief summary: A Jew from Jerusalem was traveling alone on a road and was ambushed by robbers who left him for dead. Not too long after, a Jewish priest happened to be walking down the same road. He saw the Jew, but crossed the road and kept on going as if he didn't see him. A little while later, a Levite man (who is also a Jew) came walking through, sees the beaten man, and also crossed the road and ignored him. Next came along a samaritan man. Now, samaritans and Jews didn't have anything to do with each other, yet this samaritan took pity on the poor Jew. He bandaged up the man's wounds and carried him on his donkey to an inn and took care of him. He gave the innkeeper some money to help the man, and told him that if he spent more he'd repay him on his way back through.
This parable reveals that we are to show love to all, even those who are our enemies. What a fine example Jesus gave in this story!

An example of love for one's parents was displayed by Jesus as he was dying, at John 19:25-27. Just before his death, he saw his mother, Mary, and his disciple, John. Apparently Mary was widowed by this point, because Jesus goes on to entrust Mary into John's care as if she were his mother. John accepts the responsibility. This is a great example of a son making sure to care for the needs of his parent.

And last,but certainly not least, the best example of love there ever was: Christ's sacrifice for our sins. As the bible says, this was an act of love on God's part (John 3:16) as well as an act of love by Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Ephesians 3:19). And as the bible says, "No one has greater love than this - to surrender his soul on behalf of another person"(John 15:13).

In all things we do, and towards all people we encouter, we must display love. (Matthew 7:12, 1 Corinthians 16:14) Of course, this can be a real challenge at times, and seem downright impossible even! But the idea is that we imitate God's love as best as we can in all facets of our lives. God sees when we do this, and He remembers the love we show