WHAT IS LOVE?

What is love?
According to Webster love is strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties, (2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests b : an assurance of love,
2 : warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion 3 a : the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration; used as a term of endearment 4 a : unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1) : the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2) : brotherly concern for others inspired by affection
1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV) And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Paul in First Corinthians states that love is “charity suffereth long; and is kind; charity envieth not, charity vaunteth not itself; is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemingly, seekth not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, and that charity never fails!
1Jo 4:18 states: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

The English language only has one word for love. For example I can say, "I love my wife" and use the same word to say, "I love banana sandwiches" or "I love my kids" and so forth. Obviously I don't love a banana sandwich the same way I love my kids! But, just what is love?
We often look for love in the wrong places. We look horizontally rather than vertically for love. I see folks filling their emptiness with empty love. It just will not fulfill or sustain you. We try to fill our emptiness with "fun fixes," "fun fixes" being, parties, recreation, vacations, temporal thrills and the like. Just what is love?

The Greek Language has five words for love.
1. Sensual love. This is sexual desire. Greeks called it epithymia.
2. Yearning for unity. For the Greeks this meant a drive to unite with something attractive. They called it eros. Our English word erotic means passion and sex, but for the Greeks, eros had a much broader meaning. It could even be used to describe love for God. C.S. Lewis uses the word to mean, "falling in love."
3. Brotherly love. This kind of love shared by good friends and companions. It is a close feeling that develops when two persons have many things in common. The Greek word for this is phillia.
4. Family affection. This is the kind of love shared by parents and children. The Greeks called this storge.
5. Self-giving love. Greek Christians invented this concept and called it agape. They associated this type of love with Jesus. It is the self-giving devotion to others regardless of their merits. There are some people you don't think are very loveable, but you can love them anyway, simply because they are human beings.

We say we love our spouses, our boy or girlfriends, our kids, our parents with this Agape love. But do we really? Do we really love God with the same Agape love that He loves us with or do we love with conditional love? One type of conditional love is the, "I love you if" do something love. This turns into a manipulative love. Your boyfriend gets angry because you will not give in to his sexual desires. What he is saying is I love you if you go to bed with me. Husbands and wives do this; while we may not say these exact words we imply them by our actions. "I love you if you get a better job", "I love you if you get us a bigger house" "I love you if we take better vacations," "I love you if you stop doing this or that." We do this to God. As long as my health is good, I am successful and all is well in my life, I love you Lord! But when our boat gets rocked... watch out God! Our "love" changes.

Another conditional love we imply and sometimes say is the "I love you because of something" love. "I love you because you are beautiful, because you are smart, because you are popular, because you are talented, ect." We imply to our kids, "I love you because you have good grades, you excel in sports, or some other talent." This leads to fear and insecurity, because the one being loved constantly has to live up to the "because" expectation the one doing the "loving" places on us. I sure am glad God is not like that toward us. So, where do we find this Agape love? Where do we find as Paul calls it, "A more excellent way."

There are at least two examples of agape love in the Bible, one found in the Old Testament i.e. Abraham being asked by to sacrifice his promised son Isaac (Genesis 22:1-18). Abraham’s love for God was tested by his willingness to give up the promised child Isaac. He trusted God and obeyed God! Now look at Isaac’s love for his father. A 25 year-old man. Matured but submissive, wanting the will of his father to be done. A willingness to trust his father. He lost his will to that of his father. Isaac became dead to himself. Love breeds trust.
Likewise Jesus lost his will. His will became rapped up in the will of his father. He said, “not my will but Thy will be done”. He worked because he saw his father working. He imitated the passions of his Father. Love results in submissiveness and willingness.
The other in the New Testament, God allowing his only begotten son, Jesus to die on the cross in our place for our sins (John 3:16). “No greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)
The ultimate love (charity or agape) is a selfless and giving love. One that is will to pay the ultimate price, by giving oneself or giving what one love’s the most! Any man that loves meets the requirement of self-sacrifice. The seed of love brings about a “defacing of oneself”. It goes to any length, it takes a hit, and it covers. Your love is perfected through sacrifice. We must go to the source of this love, the source being God Himself. First John 4 sums it up pretty nicely for us, let us read it:
4:7
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
4:8
He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
4:9
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.
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.
4:11
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. Amen!