Love is a better way to disagree than hate. Let’s disagree better. Persistent love can transform a foe into a friend.

Confronting evil with love is a great weapon against evil. It doesn’t escalate the evil, but exposes it in the heart of those who wield it. When hate is raging, love can overcome it with noncooperation and an ongoing assault of kindness.

It’s easy to love people we consider to be worthy of love. It’s hard to love those we believe to be unworthy of it.

If we believe someone is influenced by evil, perhaps we should respond with love and compassion, instead of with anger and hostility. People caught up in evil need love and compassion the most.

If you learn to see the image of God in people, you’ll never again look at them the same way. If you give cruel words a kind reply, the person who spoke those words will be amazed at your love. Love drives out indifference and causes you to want to know about the problems, pain, and injustice that people are going through now (or have gone through in the past).

Beware of love these wreckers: impatience, unkindness, envy, bragging, pride, rudeness, ego, anger, blame, corruption, and dishonesty. (See 1 Corinthians 13.) Hate hardens hearts. Love unfolds them like flowers opening in the sun.

Love isn’t just a feeling. It is actions of concern, kindness, compassion, and sharing. Love looks at people with an open heart that cares about them and their concerns.

Love is when concern for others eclipses concern for self. It focuses attention and caring on other people and away from self. Love deprioritizes self. You can’t control whether or not people love you, but you can train yourself to love and be kind to people.

If people don’t believe you care about them, they won’t accept your opinion, no matter how strongly you argue for it. You can be the reason someone feels loved today. Why not?

Because love isn’t based on agreement or approval, it’s able to cross the lines that divide people and release kindness, caring, and compassion. Christians are told to “overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21) and “repay evil with blessing” (1 Peter 3:9). How are we doing with that?

God’s love isn’t narrow. It’s broad. When it gets ahold of you, it makes you love everybody (even people you don’t even like).