Biblical Love

What Is Love?

If someone, asked you to define love, what would you say?

We say we love all kinds of things though, we love pizza, we love dogs, and we love our family. Is it all the same kind of love?

What about the tingly feeling when you see someone you like? Is that love?

Love is not our own idea or creation, and so as much as our culture strives to define love. Our definition of love has long strayed away from how the God who is love, has defined love.

True Love is Self-Sacrificial

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1 John 4:7–11 (ESV)

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have 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 also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:19 ESV

We love because he first loved us.

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John 15:13 ESV

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

The God of the Bible is the only God that has proved his love in giving the greatest gift and sacrifice.

Why is self-sacrifice the clearest mark of true love?

When we think about true love, we have to think about it in light of the fact that God is where love comes from and so He defines it for us, so we can’t call something love when there is no self-sacrifice involved.

True Love Is Supernatural

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1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (ESV)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

It is not natural for any of us to exhibit all these attributes of love at the same time, all the time.

Love that is others focused (v.4-5)

None of us have the problem of being self focused, just look at a 2 year old child, being all about what you want comes natural.

True love is others focused

Being others focused looks like being patient, kind, not envying or boasting, arrogant or rude, insisting on its on way or irritable and resentful

Love that is committed to that which is good and true (v.6)

Love that is sustained (v.7)

Genuine love will last, love that fades when circumstance grow difficult proves to not be true love

You can not fall out of love contrary to popular belief,