At its best, Christianity has been characterized by helping people. This ranges from the personal to the institutional. At the personal level, Christians should help others. This includes direct help for friends, and participation in more organized activities such as soup kitchens and help for the homeless. At the institutional level, Christians have been active in creating hospitals, schools, and other institutions to help people.
What is Christian love?
The term "love" in English covers many things, including erotic love, love between parent and child, brotherly love, etc. Christian love can be modeled on love between parent and child and brotherly love.
We are told to love everyone, particularly enemies. It's useful to start by looking at what this does NOT mean. It does not mean that we will like everyone. Love is not primarily an emotion, although it often involves the emotions, and is supported by them. It is primarily a commitment to care about someone.
Jesus' teachings are largely a description of what love means. However the briefest description is from one of Paul's letters:
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love is based on our status as fellow children of God. This means that there is at least potentially a close spiritual bond between all of us. It is a reflection of the fact that God loves us, and is an expression of Christ's love active in us.
