I find it interesting how when we think of the word love, we usually think of complete tolerance for all human behavior and beliefs when, in actuality, that isn't true love at all.
Love is The Gospel.
As humans, "[w]e love because He first loved us", 1 John 4:19 says. We are able to show others love but only through the power of the Gospel. So many times in our lives, though, we mix up love with our feelings. We tend to see love as infatuation when love itself is not based on emotion.
1 John 4:8 says, "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love". God Himself is love, and the love He is talking about is different than the way we typically view it. It is unconditional love that speaks the truth.
Speaking truth is not normal in our twisted view of this word. We see love as letting everyone believe the lie that every belief, every lifestyle, every sin is okay. Again I say, this is a lie.
The Lord came down from Heaven and loved us to show us that our sins are evil, and they separate us from God, yet we can be forgiven through Him and only Him. He puts our sin into the light because He loves us. He disciplines His children because He loves us.
When we love others, we want to look like Jesus. We need to meet someone where they're at and show them the love and truth of Jesus that can help them see what having "life to the full" really means (John 10:10).
Love is not tolerance. Love is not saying that all ways lead to Heaven. Love says that Jesus and Jesus alone leads to Heaven.
If we aren't telling people the truth, then are we truly loving them? If we tell people the lie that they could possibly be good enough for Heaven if they do enough deeds to win God's favor, then we are cheating them out of the biggest victory they could ever have.
Not everyone will believe the truth that Jesus comes to save. Not everyone will see that we don't have to earn righteousness ourselves, but that we can have Christ's righteousness lavished upon us, but if we know this to be true, don't we want to share it?
This is love. We can show others love by showing them who Jesus is. Showing others that there is grace for our sin is one of the boldest acts of love we can do for someone else.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."
This is true love. This is the love of Jesus.
