I think this person was struggling with a tough situation, but that was a very good question. One that I have thought on since I read her question.
We all want to be loved and want to love others. Love is an important part of our lives. Love is so important that it has been the subject of songs, poems, stories, books, movies and many plots throughout history in every culture. There have even been wars fought over the love of a woman. Remember the story of Helen of Troy? Love takes precedent in many situations. But what is love? What is true love?
The dictionary shows that love is both a noun and a verb. It is a noun defined as 1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person, and as a verb defined as 16. to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person). (www.Dictionary.com)
There are many definitions listed in the dictionary. Love does have many definitions. Love is often viewed as a strong emotion, but love is more than just a feeling. In the purest sense, it is goodwill toward another and doing good for fellow man.
We all want to know what love is. We all find definitions of love. Try to show love and like to feel love. There is a little comic called "Love is..." that would appear in the comic section of the paper. It began in 1970. Every week it would have a cute little pic and a little phrase about what love is. When I was getting married, my father clipped out one of these and gave it to me before my wedding. I still have it in my wedding album. It was so sweet. I have always enjoyed those little comics. I still like to read them.
Love is shown in many ways. It is...
A husband taking care of his family
A mother's sacrifice for her child's need
A father's work interrupted for time spent with a child
A stranger's act of kindness
An embrace in a time of heartache
A gentle touch
A smile of joy
A bedside vigil in a time of death
It is seen as self-sacrifice, self, control, putting others first, forgiveness, kindness, self-denial, selflessness, and given with no thought of personal gain.
God is love and he has commanded His people to love. We are to love our brothers (Romans 12:10) and prefer them as well as love our enemies (Matthew 5:44) above and beyond what they demand.
We are commanded to love. God had a lot to say about love. After all, He is love. He created it and gives it to us as a great gift to share. He gave the ultimate gift in love.
True Love is God
Love is a manifestation of God in people. God is love and love comes from Him. There is no love without God. Let that sink in. Without God, there is no love.
1 John 4: 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
When we share love, we share God. Love is demonstrated in what we do for others. It is demonstrated by action. There is a lot of scripture that tells us to love one another. That is how others will know us.
I John 4
Knowing God Through Love
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Seeing God Through Love
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
The Consummation of Love
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
Why do we want to love and be loved?
It is God manifest in us, sharing God with others. Others may know God through us, in our actions. We demonstrate who God is by our demonstrations of love. He demonstrated love with his ultimate sacrifice. Jesus lay down his life and died on the cross for our sins. (1 John 3:16) In fact, John 15:13 says: Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
All our actions and words should be motivated by love, love for God and love from God.
What we do, say and think should come from God's great gift of love. That should be our witness, our testimony of who God is.
How we speak to and treat others should reflect God. True love leaves no room for selfishness, hatred, anger, hurt, pride, destruction, bitterness, unforgiveness, harshness, intimidation, mean words or deeds, etc.
Love is of God and is God. Even those who claim there is no God, yet feel love, display love and claim to know love, are experiencing the love of God. Their very existence is only due to a God who is love and loves them enough to lay down His life for them. We are only here because of that love.
We owe him more than we can even fathom. Our very existence is based on love. Love of a good Father who wants His creation to love him, love one another and love even when no one else does.
It is an amazing love that fills this world. It is a love that cannot be described by mere human words.
It is high time that the body of Christ act on the love of God to a lost and dying world as well as to one another. Love is what should move us, motivate us and call us to action. Love should bring us to our knees in prayer for thankfulness for what He has done, but also in desperation for those lost in sin. We really should love them enough to put our lives aside for a bit to spend in prayer for the souls going to a real Hell, spiraling into utter darkness and disregard for the loving Savior. There is more than just saying God loves them, there should be a love motivated desperation to see them saved before they face utter, eternal destruction. Do we love God enough to really love the way He did? Are we willing to lay our physical life down for the opportunity that another soul might be saved? Even a soul that might hate us, revile us, despitefully use us, and even wish us death?
God did. He died for every single person that has ever and will ever be on this earth. He died for those that choose to love him and those that try to destroy His truth. He died for those that seek to kill, steal and destroy. He died for those that say he doesn't exist. He died for them because that was required to give them salvation. He really needs His body to act on that love and reveal to those lost souls just how much they really are loved. Wouldn't that change a lot of problems in this world? Really, most sad, lonely people are hoping to be loved. Let's figure this thing out and show the world who God is.
God is love. Plain and Simple. God is love.
You can never appreciate being loved until someone gives you their unconditional love. So grateful Jesus died to save me from my sins and give eternal life. I still enjoy reading Love is....
ReplyDeleteI had been doing another study on God's power. I couldn't help but to see Love as the power of God. "... but the greatest of these is love". We've heard and know, their is power in prayer. Their is also power in love. Yes Lord, let your power of love be manifested. Let hearts be opened to receive this Great Love.
ReplyDelete