Love is the Defining Characteristic of Discipleship

That's actually why love is the defining characteristic of discipleship--because love--true love--can only come from a true, vibrant, and constant experience of the gospel. The gospel is what love is--that's the true measure of love. Those who truly love demonstrate that they have been loved and are growing in their understanding of the great love of God in Christ.

--Eric Geiger, Michael Kelley, and Philip Nation, Transformational Discipleship: How People Really Grow (Nashville: B&H, 2012), 209.