The Tree of Love

When we cut ourselves away
from guidance that's divine,
Our lives will be as fruitless
as the branch without the vine.
For as the flowering branches
depend upon the tree
To nourish and fulfill them
till they reach futurity,
We too must be dependent
on our Father up above,
For we are but the branches
and He's The Tree of Love.

-- Helen Steiner Rice --



"Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous or
boastful or proud or rude.
Love does not demand its own way.
Love is not irritable, and
it keeps no record of when
it has been wronged.
It is never glad about injustice
but rejoices whenever the
truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never
loses faith, is always hopeful,
and endures through
every circumstance."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT



"So now I am giving you a
new commandment: Love each
other. Just as I have loved
you, you should love each other.
Your love for one another will
prove to the world that you
are my disciples."

John 13:34-35 NLT



"You have heard that the law
of Moses says, 'Love your
neighbor' and hate your enemy.
But I say, love your enemies!
Pray for those who persecute you!
In that way, you will be acting
as true children of your
Father in heaven. For He gives
His sunlight to both the evil
and the good, and He sends rain
on the just and on the unjust, too.
If you love only those who love
you, what good is that? Even
corrupt tax collectors do that much."

Matthew 5:43-46 NLT



"Don't just pretend that you
love others. Really love them.
Hate what is wrong. Stand on
the side of the good.
Love each other with genuine
affection, and take delight
in honoring each other."

Romans 12:9-11 NLT



"God showed how much He loved us
by sending His only Son into
the world so that we might have
eternal life through Him.
This is real love. It is not
that we loved God, but that He
loved us and sent His Son as a
sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved
us that much, we surely ought
to love each other.
No one has ever seen God. But if
we love each other, God lives in
us, and His love has been brought
to full expression through us.
And God has given us His Spirit
as proof that we live in Him
and He in us.
Furthermore, we have seen with
our own eyes and now testify that
the Father sent His Son to be
the Savior of the world.
All who proclaim that Jesus is
the Son of God have God living
in them, and they live in God.
We know how much God loves us, and
and we have put our trust in Him.

1 John 4:9-16 NLT



"If I could speak in any language in
heaven or on earth but didn't love others,
I would only be making meaningless noise
like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I
knew all the mysteries of the future and
knew everything about everything, but
didn't love others, what good would I be?
And if I had the gift of faith so that I
could speak to a mountain and make it move,
without love I would be no good to anybody.
If I gave everything I have to the poor
and even sacrificed my body, I could boast
about it; but if I didn't love others, I
would be of no value whatsoever."

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT