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做牧师时常会有很多愉快的经历，其中之一就是主持婚礼。婚礼有很多不同的规模和形式，然而它们大都拥有一个共同特征：爱。

在主持婚礼之前，我会对订了婚的情侣双方进行婚前辅导。辅导中有一部分的讨论是关于他们为什么想结婚，而“爱”往往是他们所提及的主要原因。然而，这个小小的爱字，可以有很多不同的意思。爱是一个名词，也是一个动词。人们堕入爱河，人们也喜欢活在爱的氛围中。我们爱人和动物、爱运动、爱冰淇淋、爱某种天气！爱情诗歌是最受欢迎的一类音乐作品。那么，当我们说仁爱是圣灵所结的果子时，我们所说的究竟是什么意思呢？

约翰说：“不是我们爱神，乃是神先爱我们，差他的儿子为我们的罪作了挽回祭，这就是爱了。”（约壹 4:10）真正的爱是一种牺牲的行动，它寻求祝福别人，它关注别人的最大益处。我们越是珍惜神救赎我们的大爱，圣灵便越发推动我们、藉着我们的言语和行为与人分享这份大爱。

One of the many joys of being a pastor is to officiate at weddings. Weddings come in all sizes and shapes, but most of them have one thing in common: love.

Before officiating at a wedding, I meet with the engaged couple for premarriage counseling. Part of our discussion centers on the reasons why they are getting married. Love always plays a significant role in these reasons. And yet that little word love can mean many different things. Love is a noun, and love is a verb. We fall in love, and we love being in love. We love people and animals, sports and ice cream, and certain types of weather! Love songs are one of the most popular types of music. So when we consider that love is the fruit of the Spirit, what exactly are we talking about?

John writes, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." True love is sacrificial action. It seeks to bless others. It seeks the best interests of others. The more we value God's saving love for us, the more the Spirit moves us to share that love with others in both our words and our deeds.