Explaining what love is can be complicated when we are talking to adults. Likewise, it can be even more complex when we are teaching children. We use the word to describe so many things. It is an action word and something that we feel. We say that we love things that make us happy. Most of the time, we speak about it as conditional. It is cause and effect. Something makes us feel good. Therefore, we love it. However, small children cannot always grasp the idea of cause and effect. They usually repeat something they have heard. However, that is not to say they do not know how loving and being loved feels. Love and affection are an integral part of their development. We have all heard about the studies of older children who were developmentally delayed because they lacked affection as young children. Therefore, love is an essential part of our children’s lives.

God is love, and love is a quality that we receive from God. It is the fruit of the Spirit. Let’s discover how to explain the “What, Who, Why, When, and How” of LOVE.

Here’s a fun video where I interview children and ask them what love is.

What is Love?

In Galatians 5:22-23 we read about the fruit of the Spirit. When we live by the Spirit and allow God to control our lives, we can produce qualities not within our power and nature. God leads us to a life that can show the fruit of the Spirit. That fruit begins with love. The other eight qualities that are listed require us to love. Other places in scripture speak about love, too. It is patient and kind. It is not proud, self-seeking, easily angered, or boastful. See 1 Corinthians 13. Children can describe love by events that show love, like sharing, playing together, and saying kind words. They can also tell what love is not. They identify hitting, being mean, and bullying as unloving.

Who is Love? Whom should we Love?

Simply put, God is Love (See 1 John 4:7-21). The fruit of His Spirit embodies it, too. Likewise, we are to love God (See Deuteronomy 6:5 and Matthew 22:37) and each other (See Matthew 22:39 and John 15:12). We are to show it to our enemies (see Matthew 5:44). We are to show it to our neighbors (see Leviticus 19:18 and Romans 13:8-10).

Why Love?

We love because God loves us (1 John 4:9), and we love so that others will know we are followers of Jesus (John 13:35).

When should we Love?

God wants to know our love for Him each morning (see Psalm 143:8). We are to love always, and it should never leave us (see Proverbs 3:3-4).

How?

We put it on (see Colossians 3:14) and live in it (see 1 John 4:16). We do not wait until we feel love. It is something we must do. We love and forgive each other (see 1 Peter 4:8). We are to be genuine (see Romans 12:9) by honoring others and putting them above ourselves (see Romans 12:10). Ultimately, the greatest act of love is to be willing to die for someone else (see John 15:13).

Knowing God Loves Us.

Children need to know God loves them. Let’s consider how we feel about something we have made. With children, think of that awesome tower they built in the block center. Or the picture they painted in the art center. When we help create something, we have passion for it. As parents, we completely understand this concept because of our deep affection for our children. In the Christian Children’s books about the potter and his vessels, children know that the potter loves them because he made each one. Consequently, God loves us because he made each of us.

The second reason we know God loves us is that he chose to die for us. John 15:30 tells us the greatest act of love is to lay down your life for someone else. And that is precisely what Jesus did. He died so that we would not have to. His death was necessary to forgive our sins and allow us to be with Him forever.

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. God gave his Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him.

-John 3:16-17 icb

The Equation of Love

If God is love and lives in us, then His love is in us, too. If we abide in love, we abide in God. ( 1 John 4:16 and John 15:9-11). And, if love is the fruit of His Spirit, we can only grow it when we are attached to God, just as the parable of the vine and the branches illustrates in John 15:1-17. You can learn more about the fruit of the Spirit and how God produces it in our lives here.

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By Dawn Stephens