Love

What is Love?

The world’s view of love is an emotional attachment for someone else. It is based solely on one persons feeling for another. It is romance, affection, and longing, a desire to find that one certain person who can fulfill all our needs and desires.

When we express love, we develop a strong emotional attachment, anticipating our love to be returned. We ask, “What do I receive out of this relationship? What’s makes me content in this relationship?” Our feelings focus upon discovering that one individual who satisfies all our heart’s desires. Sadly, what nourished and warmed our heart for someone for a short time often withers and grows cold. Yet, the course of true love never runs totally smooth, nor does it give up when things get tough.

Real love demands sacrifices that can’t be found in self-centeredness. You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. Sacrificial love requires that we give of the things we value most: our hearts, minds, souls, our strength and time. Real love does not always follow our fleshly nature.  It is not just a feel good feeling.

Love can only be understood from the actions of giving to one another. When we are willing to bear with the failings and weaknesses of others, divine love reveals itself (Ephesians 4:2 “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love”). At all costs, true love compels us to give so that we relieve the suffering of others. Instead of seeking to fulfill our own emotional and physical needs (receiving), we humbly give of ourselves (1 Peter 3:8–9 “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.”).

We should always desire to have the love nature of God, for Godly love is perfect love. God’s nature is love and true love is of God.” God created love. He deliberately chose to express His love to us thereby revealing the very nature of God Himself.

God’s Love Is Sacrificial – God initiated an eternal love relationship with us before we loved Him (1 John 4:10 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”).

God’s Love Is Merciful – God extended the wealth of His kindness even when we were undeserving of His love (Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved);”).

God’s Love Is Faithful – Even in the most extreme circumstances, God’s love for us remains secure (Romans 8:35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Romans 38-39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”).

God is love and He created love in us. God created us a certain way to experience all that perfect love was meant to be (1 John 4:7-12 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”).

Dear friends, the greatest gift we can give is the true love of God to others, so let us love one another as Christ has loved us being willing to sacrifice ourselves, having mercy, and being faithful, first to Christ, who first love us, and then to others from our closest family to all those around us just as Christ did when He gave His life for us.

Happy Valentine’s Day and May God Richly Bless Each of You With His Love and Peace! ~Jeanette