I Choose Love: How to Love . . .
Chip Ingram titles his latest book I Choose Love: How to Love Your Neighbor as Yourself (Moody, 2026). Chip Ingram currently serves as teaching pastor and CEO at Living on the Edge, an international teaching and discipleship ministry. Most significantly, Chip stresses, you love something you can actually choose to experience. Not something for which you have great desire, but little control. Agape love forms the foundation for the other three types of love: storgea, phileo, and eros. Furthermore, four words characterize God’s kind of love — gives, serves, obeys, cares. And everyone’s called to embody the love and unity of the Trinity in our relationships with God and other believers. To clearly reflect the heart of God.
Therefore, Pastor Ingram cites the Platinum Rule: Do unto others as God has already done unto you. To go in the direction God intends, love must be at the center of your life. Biblical love = a choice made with eyes wide open. Hence, humility is not a ‘give to get’ transactional, but a Christlike model of putting others first in love. As a result, you develop character and bless other people through the everyday little things you do. In addition, Chip exhorts, when you declare that ‘I choose love,’ practice saying I am second. You are first. Certainly, God gifts us with dreams, desires, ambitions, and passions. But He points us in a counterintuitive direction to get there.
Thus, greatness comes in serving God with what we have, not in having a lot. At its core, humility consists of obeying, expressing our humility outwardly. Yet, meekness never equates to weakness. Instead, meekness involves willful restraint. Strength under control of a higher value and purpose. When you affirm ‘I choose love,’ that means you give other people what they need the most when they deserve it the least. Often at great personal cost. Consequently, you must do more than simply possess God’s truth. You also must access that truth. And in the process, you must invest the effort and discipline to mine the depths of the grace God has given you.
In conclusion, Chip emphasizes, our entire testimony depends on gratitude — rather than complaints coming out of our mouths. Also, for the sake of internal unity and external witness, as Christians we need to live like grateful servants. For God searches for people He can trust to bring His light and love to a hurting world. People whose hearts are fully His. Thus, real caring involves sacrifice. Furthermore, Chip states, respond to God with baby steps of obedience to bring light, love, kindness, holiness, and truth to the world around you. Be willing and available to live with a readiness to respond to what God’s saying.
Finally, Chip encourages:
“Love aligns with [God’s] nature and fulfills His highest commandment. So ask Him daily, even hourly, to fill your life with His love and give you the wisdom and humility to love others well. He will produce in you the life and love of Jesus Himself.”