Cultivating Christ’s Love

As we strive to emulate Christ’s love in our actions toward ourselves and others, we can help love grow throughout the world.

Love is a concept that we hear about constantly in movies, books, and the media. Even in the scriptures love is frequently mentioned. Christ has told us that we should love God and everyone around us as we love ourselves (Luke 10:27). But why is love so important that God would command us to practice it with everyone around us? The amazing thing about Christ’s love is that as we cultivate it in ourselves, we will feel prompted to share it with others, and it will begin to spread. When his love is planted and nurtured, it can’t help but grow.

Elder Edward Dube illustrates this in his article “The Savior’s Love and Concern for the One.” He specifically focuses on how we can increase Christ’s love in the world through caring for and loving one individual at a time—he defines this as ministering. He describes a time in his life when someone ministered to him and helped him understand more clearly the love that Christ had for him individually. Elder Dube emphasizes that “we have been asked to minister to those around us as He does—one by one.” We can reach out to each individual through daily acts of kindness and understanding to show them that we care. By implementing Christ’s love in our interactions with each person around us, we are cultivating his love everywhere. 

While we are ministering to others, we must not forget to minister to ourselves as well. If we do not care for ourselves as Christ has commanded, we will not be able to properly care for others either. In our own lives, we can work on forgiving ourselves for our mistakes and building a relationship with Heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. 

It is so important—especially in this time of division, fear, and hatred—for each of us to actively cultivate Christ’s love for ourselves and others. As we do so, we can ensure that Christ’s love will continue to grow until it covers the Earth.

Read Edward Dube’s article “The Savior’s Love and Concern for the One” to learn about his personal experience receiving Christ’s love.

Source: Liahona

—Amelia Anderson, Latter-day Saint Insights

FEATURE IMAGE BY GARY BARNES

Read and watch President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s address, “Fill the World with Christ’s Love,” to deepen your understanding of spreading Christ’s love.