What is Love?

What is love? It can be defined as an emotion or an intense feeling. It can be defined as caring and full of concern. It can be defined as devotion or loyalty to another. It is impossible to give “love” a single definition that would encompass all that love is. What does the bible say about “love”?

First, let us look at I John 4:7-8
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

God is love. No wonder we can’t narrow the definition of love into a single word! God is big. We cannot narrow God down to a single word definition either!

God is also the source of love. And from that source radiates the many attributes of love which we can find in
I Corinthians 13:4-7,

“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.”

Apostle John also tells us that since we are born of God, we must love one another. So the next time you read I Corinthians 13, replace the word “love” with your name. This provides us with a list to test our thoughts, words, and actions. Do they fit within these parameters of love?

Now we must be careful to only measure ourselves against this scripture and not use it to judge or measure others’ quality of love. If someone in our life is deficient in an area of love, all we can do is pray for them and ask God to intercede and guide them. We cannot change another person, that's God's job. We also need to ask God to give us wisdom with that individual and to guide us, through the help of the Holy Spirit, to love them regardless.

Let’s continue in I John 4:10-11,
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

God loves us with an unconditional love. His love is not dependent on us first loving Him. Apostle John tells us that we should love one another in the same manner. Our love for others needs to be unconditional and not dependent upon what others give us. As mere humans, this is a challenge for us. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to love others as God loves us.

As we continue reading in I John 4, let us finish with verses 12-13,
“No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.”

Apostle John continues to tell us to love one another. This is an important theme in his message. If we don’t love one another, we don’t know God and God is not in us...because God is love. When we are apart from love, we are apart from God.

So what is love? God is love. God is the definition of love and the source of love. Love doesn’t exist without God. When we are born of God, He lives in us and makes His love complete in us through the Holy Spirit. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can love others as God loves us...unconditionally and with the attributes of love in I Corinthians 13.