Welcome to the top 30 Bible verses for kids about love! When it comes to our children, is there anything more important than love? We want their upbringing to be defined by love and we want them to mature into loving adults. But suppose our children asked us “what is love” or “why is love so important?” How would we answer?
If you’re a little stumped, you’re not alone. Love is universally talked about, but we often don’t take time to think about what it is, where it comes from, or why it’s important. So how do we as parents or ministry leaders teach our children about love if we’re a little fuzzy about the idea ourselves? Thankfully the Bible has a lot to say about love!
Depending on the translation of the Bible you’re reading, the word love appears anywhere from 400-700 times. Below are approximate totals from popular translations:
- English Standard Version: 684
- King James Version: 442
- New American Standard Bible: 479
- New Living Translation: 759
- New International Version: 686
- The Message: 611
As we examine our top 30 Bible verses for kids about love we’ll take a look at five key themes. Each of these themes hold big implications for our ministries, families, and our children!
What is Love?
Defining love can be challenging. On the one hand our children might say “I love my mommy” and on the other they can say “I love my football.” In the bible the first time the word love is used is Genesis 22:2 “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” This first mention illustrates that true love is giving and sacrificial. Here are 6 Bible verses for kids about love that will help our children better understand what love is.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. – Romans 12:9 (NIV)
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. – 1 John 4:18 (NIV)
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. – Romans 13:10 (NIV)
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. – 1 John 4:10 (NIV)
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. – 1 John 4:8 (NIV)
Living In Love
While it is important for our children to understand what love is, we also need them to understand that love is something they do. As Mother Teresa said “Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service.” The very best thing our children can do with their lives is to love God and love others! Here are 6 verses that describe how our children are to live in love.
Do everything in love. – 1 Corinthians 16:14 (NIV)
Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
– Proverbs 3:3-4 (NIV)
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. – Mark 12:30 (NIV)
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. – 1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. – 1 John 3:18 (NIV)
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. – John 14:15 (NIV)
God’s Love
In 1 John 4:8 we learn “God is love.” This profound statement points us to the triune nature of God. There is one God who has always existed as three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in a perfect relationship of love. This is the incredible promise of the Gospel, that through faith in Jesus Christ our children can enter into this perfect and loving relationship! Below are 6 Bible verses for kids about love that teach our children about the love of God.
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.
– Psalm 143:8 (NIV)
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
– 1 John 4:16 (NIV)
We love because He first loved us. – 1 John 4:19 (NIV)
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. – 1 John 3:1
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:38-39
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 (NIV)
Love Comes First
A large portion of parenting is teaching our children what is important and what is not. We try to help them see that ‘little’ things are not worth stressing or fighting over. At the same time we want them to understand why the ‘big’ things must not be ignored or taken for granted. To this end, the Bible will teach our children that love must come first. Here are 5 verses that talk about the supremacy of love:
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” – Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. – Colossians 3:14 (NIV)
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. – I Corinthians 13:2 (NIV)
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. – I Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. – Colossians 3:14 (NIV)
Loving Others
The great theologian and philosopher Augustine once said “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.” Love is something that starts vertically between us and God but then it spreads out horizontally as we endeavor to love others as God has loved us. Here are 8 verses that teach us about loving others:
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. – Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. – 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. – John 15:12 (NIV)
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. – Romans 12:10 (NIV)
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. – 1 John 4:12 (NIV)
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. – John 15:3 (NIV)
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. – 1 Thessalonians 3:12 (NIV)
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. – Matthew 5:44 (NIV)
About Sharefaith Kids
We at Sharefaith Kids hope you have enjoyed this article on Bible verses for kids about love. Sharefaith Kids is a digital library of kids ministry resources designed to inspire kids and empower teachers. Our content includes Bible videos, curriculum, lesson slideshows, games, Bible comics, worship videos, and so much more!
Free Resource! In our free download below, you’ll find more resources to help your kids learn what the Bible has to say about love. Our free “Love Is” coloring pages are a classroom favorite and link to an online family devotional!
