If you asked those around you, “What is love?” what answers would you get? Perhaps “an emotion” or “something you feel toward someone else.” Maybe just “affection.” Someone might even jokingly quote the song lyric, “Baby, don’t hurt me.”
But the Bible teaches something quite different. Love is a recurring theme throughout Scripture, explored by various authors in profound ways. While the epistles are often cited on matters of the heart, lessons on love are woven throughout the entire Bible. This article looks at four biblical figures who show us how to love in a practical, God-honouring way.
Ruth
The book of Ruth begins with deep loss. Due to a famine, Elimelek moves his family from Bethlehem to Moab, where he later dies, leaving behind his wife, Naomi, and their two sons. The sons marry Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah, but tragedy strikes again when both men die, leaving the three women widowed.
Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to return to their families, but Ruth refuses, declaring in Ruth 1:16:
“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.”
Ruth’s love is rooted in kindness, loyalty, and faith. She willingly follows Naomi into an unfamiliar land with no promises of security, marriage, or wealth. She does this not out of obligation, but out of love.
What makes someone act so selflessly? Ruth 1:16 gives us a clue: “Your God is my God.” Ruth’s love wasn’t just about loyalty to Naomi – it was an act of faith. She chose to love God by loving His people.
While we may not be called to literally uproot our lives for someone, Ruth models an attitude we should adopt: identifying the needs of those around us, showing up in their struggles, and sacrificing our own comfort for the sake of love. Just as Ruth’s faithfulness was ultimately rewarded, so is a heart that loves with no strings attached.
Jonathan
Jonathan and David’s friendship is one of the most powerful examples of love in Scripture. Jonathan loved David “as himself” (1 Samuel 18:3), and David later declared that Jonathan’s love “surpassed that of women” (2 Samuel 1:26).
Their story spans many battles and betrayals, but perhaps the most striking moment of friendship is found in 1 Samuel 23. David, betrayed by the people of Keilah whom he had just saved, is on the run from King Saul. He is exhausted, on the run, and likely struggling with doubt. But then, Jonathan comes to him and does something remarkable:
“And Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he said. ‘My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” (1 Samuel 23:16)
Jonathan doesn’t just offer comfort, he strengthens David’s faith. He reassures David of God’s plan, even though it means giving up his own claim to the throne. His love is completely selfless, prioritising God’s will over his own future.
Are we Jonathans to the Davids in our lives? Do we show up for our friends – not just in the easy moments, but in their hardest struggles? Are we willing to remind them of God’s faithfulness when they start to doubt? Jonathan’s story teaches us that true friendship isn’t just about companionship, it’s about helping each other walk closer with God.
Esther
“If I perish, I perish.”
Esther’s story is one of extraordinary courage and selfless love. An orphan raised by her cousin Mordecai, she rises to become queen of Persia. But when Haman, a high-ranking official, manipulates King Ahasuerus into ordering the destruction of the Jewish people, Esther faces an agonising choice: stay silent and protect herself, or risk everything to save her people.
In Persian law, approaching the king without being summoned could mean death unless he extended his golden scepter. Still, Mordecai urges Esther to act. Her response in Esther 4:16 is legendary:
“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”
Esther’s love is twofold – she loves her people, and she loves God. She acts not because she knows she will succeed, but because she trusts God with the outcome.
While we may never face life-or-death decisions like Esther, we all encounter moments where standing up for others requires courage. Do we speak up when someone is being mistreated? Do we defend those who have no voice? Esther’s story reminds us that love isn’t just about kindness, it’s about bravery, standing for what’s right, even when the cost is high.
Jesus
Jesus defines the greatest love in John 15:13:
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
He displayed this love on the cross, bearing the weight of the world’s sin and giving His life so we could be reconciled to God.
Jesus commands us to love one another with this same sacrificial love. While we may not be called to physically die for others, we are called to sacrifice daily.
Christ’s sacrifice was ultimate, but to follow His example means putting others before ourselves – building them up, strengthening their faith, and caring for their well-being, even at personal cost. The question we must ask ourselves is simple:
Are we willing to lay down our lives – not just in death, but in daily acts of love for our friends?
