Loving through a renewed mind begins with surrendering to the Holy Spirit. It means laying down our way of loving — the conditional love, the “I’ll love you if…” attitudes — and leaving those old habits at the foot of the cross. This can feel hard because many of us are used to running things our own way. We decide who deserves our love and who doesn’t. If someone doesn’t fit our personal preferences or meet our expectations, we quietly label them as unworthy. But real, Christ-like love doesn’t start with our preferences — it starts with the Holy Spirit working in us, and us choosing to cooperate with Him.
1 Corinthians 13:1-2 (NLT) says, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” Paul makes it clear in this passage that you can be gifted, talented, and carry all kinds of abilities — but if love isn’t flowing through you, it doesn’t mean a thing. You can talk smooth, look put-together, and know every spiritual truth in the book, but without love, it’s just noise. God isn’t moved by how impressive we look. He’s moved by how much we look like Christ in the way we treat people. That’s what He watches. That’s what matters.
So loving people isn’t just a “nice thing.” It’s the evidence that Jesus is actually shaping our lives. When we love with His love — not our limited version — it hits different. It reaches people. It breaks down walls. It gets heaven’s attention because it carries the heartbeat of Christ. That kind of love doesn’t come from talent or personality; it comes from a mind He’s renewing and a heart that’s surrendered. That’s where the real power is.
The truth is, if somebody doesn’t know God, they can’t love the way God calls us to love. Scripture says it plainly in 1 John 4:8 (NLT), “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” Our Heavenly Father is the foundation of love, the definition of it, the Source of it. And when His love gets inside you, it’s not passive — it’s palpable. People say “kill them with kindness,” but real talk, what that really means is love them like Jesus loves.
Luke 23:34 (NLT) says, “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.” Jesus Christ didn’t clap back at His enemies. He didn’t curse them, drag them, or ask God to destroy them. Even while He was being mistreated, He prayed, “Father, forgive them…” That is compassion. That is strength. That is love flowing from a renewed mind — a mind shaped by the Holy Spirit.
That’s the kind of love that is unconditional, forgiving, and given freely. It’s not the love we produce on our own. It’s the love that Christ produces through us when we surrender to Him and allow Him to renew the way we think. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Love Through a Renewed Mind”, written by KLizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack, for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2026. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.