The Missing Essential

In all the messages, teachings, and ministries that shape discipleship today — from the pulpit to the small group, from the study guide to the podcast — one truth must rise above them all:

“Without Love, we are Nothing“

No amount of knowledge, eloquence, or doctrinal precision can replace the transforming power of Christlike love. Paul declared it plainly:

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” — 1 Corinthians 13:1 (NKJV)

The Spirit of God may illuminate our minds, but it is the love of God that transforms our hearts.

1. Love: The Fruit That Validates All Others

Discipleship often emphasizes fruit — rightly so. Jesus said, “By their fruits you will know them” (Matt. 7:16). But if the fruit we bear lacks the aroma of love, it’s spoiled fruit. Love is not one fruit among many; it is the essence of them all.

Paul identifies love as the first evidence of the Spirit’s work:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” — Galatians 5:22

From that root grows joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Each of these virtues reflects love in action.

Remove love, and all other virtues lose their life.

2. Love: The Measure of True Maturity

We often measure spiritual growth by knowledge, consistency, or leadership — but Scripture measures maturity by love.

“Above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” — Colossians 3:14

• Doctrine without love becomes arrogance.
• Service without love becomes performance.
• Holiness without love becomes legalism.

But when love governs our walk, truth becomes tender, service becomes joyful, and holiness becomes beautiful. A man of God walks this road clothed in love, for only then can his path lead others toward Christ.

3. Love: The Fulfillment of All Commands

Jesus reduced the law and the prophets into two commands, not to simplify holiness, but to reveal its heart:

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” — Matthew 22:37–39

Love for God must precede love for others. We cannot give what we have not received. When the Holy Spirit fills a man, love overflows — not sentimentally, but sacrificially. Love for God fuels obedience; love for others proves it:

• We don’t have to like everyone — but we are commanded to love everyone.
  Let’s unpack that carefully, biblically, and pastorally.
• Love Is a Command; Liking Is a Feeling

Liking someone is an emotion, often based on shared interests, compatibility, or personality. Loving someone, biblically, is an act of will rooted in the character of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you.” — John 13:34

Notice — He didn’t say “like” one another.
Biblical love (ἀγάπη, agapē) is self-giving, unconditional, and Spirit-enabled.
It’s a decision to seek another’s good, even when feelings don’t cooperate.

Charles Stanley once put it this way: “Liking is natural. Loving is supernatural.”

4. Love: The Greatest Witness

The world is not moved by our arguments but by our affection.

Jesus said: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” — John 13:35

Our credibility as disciples does not rest on charisma or creed, but on compassion. This love forgives when wronged, serves when unseen, and gives when nothing is returned. It is not natural love — it is Spirit-born love that reflects the sacrificial heart of the Father.

Do We Really Love One Another?

We meet, we gather, we rally. We fist-bump, high-five, share an “amen,” send a joyful text, and say “hallelujah.” Then we go our separate ways into our busy lives.

But here’s the honest question — do we truly love one another as we say we do? Or, if we’re honest, is it toleration at best?

Are we drawn to others because of what they know, how they speak, or what they can offer — their knowledge, their wisdom, their gifts — or are we driven by love? Genuine, Christ-born love?

No greater love has ever been displayed than the love of Jesus Christ on the Cross. That is the measure of love — sacrificial, unconditional, unselfish love.

• John writes: “We love because He first loved us.” — 1 John 4:19 (NKJV)

This is not a love that we muster up; it’s a love that flows through us — the evidence of the Spirit’s inward work in a man’s heart. Only when the Holy Spirit transforms the heart can this love take root and bear fruit.

And so, the question for every disciple remains:

Do we love one another with this kind of love — or have we settled for connection without compassion, fellowship without affection, and community without Christlike care?

Conclusion: The Call to Examine Our Fruit

Discipleship that lacks love is like a tree without roots — impressive in form, but hollow in life (forms, no substance).  Let us examine our fruit, not to compare, but to confirm that love — divine, enduring, selfless love — abides in us.

“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” — 1 Corinthians 13:13

Reflection: Ask yourself today:

• Is my love for God growing?
• Is my love for people genuine, patient, and forgiving?

Every act of discipleship must flow from the fruit of genuine Love.

Romans 12:9 (NIV): “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

True Christian love must be genuine and Spirit-born — hating what is evil, clinging to what is good, and expressing holiness through sincerity. Romans 12:9 calls believers to love authentically, reject evil, and hold fast to what reflects God’s goodness.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to love as You love — with patience, humility, and grace. Strip away every form of ministry, knowledge, or discipline that is not rooted in Your love. Make my heart reflect Yours, that every person I disciple would see not my skill, but Your love in me. In Jesus’ name, amen.