What Is Love?

Summary: Let's learn how to love, the right way. The world says Love is about how someone makes them feel, God says Love is about how you behave and treat that someone.

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I love my wife, my girlfriend, my kids, my car, my house, my cat, sex, pizza; chocolate, Michael Jackson…”

In America, the word Love is used for a lot of things. The objective of this series is to understand what real Love is; according to God’s standard. We will be discussing the godly Love we are suppose to have for our friends, neighbors, strangers, family and Christian brothers and sisters. When we say we love someone, let’s make sure it’s based on what God says Love is and not the world’s definition.

I write these articles because there is a major lack of biblical love in the Church today. This counterfeit Love leads to the mucking-up of the image of Jesus Christ; and discourages people from ever becoming his follower. Christians need to understand proper biblical Love and begin to show it.

The world defines Love as this (taken from various dictionary sources):

A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person. An intense emotional attachment or feeling for a person, place, or thing. A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance (sexual passion, sexual intercourse, a love affair).

God defines Love this way:

4 Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or 5 rude. Love isn’t selfish or quick tempered. It doesn’t keep a record of wrongs that others do. 6 Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil. 7 Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 CEV).

Let’s compare definitions:

Notice how the world’s definition seems to be based on emotions in relation to another person. But biblical love is based on a person’s character (how they act and treat other human beings).

The world says Love is about how someone makes them feel, God says Love is about how you behave and treat that someone.

God’s definition of Love has standards, the world’s doesn’t. This is why love is so confusing to the world; their are no standards. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be discussing God’s view of love; and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to understand how to love one another, according to God’s standards and not our own.

Anything other than authentic, godly love is worthless. Real love is what we need to survive. Without love, we shrivel up and die. It is our life source. Without it, we cry, lash, hurt others and grow into difficult people; and yet, we are difficult to love in the first place. The world is without love; but God is love.

Overall we will discuss 12 different attributes of real love described in the 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 passage:

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