What is Love?

SHORT DEFINITION:
Love is the willful and joyful offering of oneself for the good of another in seeking to be one in community.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

LONG DEFINITION:
Love is the willful and joyful offering of oneself for the good of another in seeking to be one in community.

• Willful – Love is not accidental, rather it is intentional. Because love is intentional, love bears desire. The one who loves sets his/her desires toward the one they seek. Because love is intentional, love bears a choice that stands on a covenant or commitment.
  
• Joyful – Love delights in the one he loves. Love takes pleasure in seeking that which is best for the other.
  
• Offering of Oneself – Love gives. Love gives of oneself. In order to give of oneself, one must have something to give. We give: self, time, attention, affection (touch), possessions, desire, acts of service, words, and body. (Heart, Mind, Body, Soul)
  
• Good – Love acts out of goodness, not what we as lowly creatures think is good, but that which is pleasing to God.
  
• Another – Love is not selfish and takes no thought of oneself except in that it understands the relationship (how one’s health affects the other). Love is entirely focused on the other.
  
• Seeking to be One in Community – Love involves a communion and fellowship. The ultimate goal in love is that two or more may be one. Love seeks peace and harmony. When we love our enemies, we are seeking to be at peace with them.

God Is Love (1 John 4:8). This statement defines love, not God. Love flows from the very nature and being of God. For example, we might say Jane is blonde. We say this because she has blonde hair. God does not have love, He is love. We cannot say love is God as love is an abstract entity while God is a personal being. Rather, we know love when we know God. We have love when we have God. And we love only when we are loved by God first. "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

Jesus Christ is the revelation of God. Jesus came down from Heaven and showed us who God is. He did this, not merely by words, but through His entire life including every action. God's love was demonstrated on the cross. Romans 5:8 says, " But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." It does not say that God loves us because we are good people and we do good things. God's love is unconditional. Rather, God loved us while we were still sinners. While the soldiers nailed Christ's hands to the wooden plank, Christ called out, "Father, please forgive them." (Luke 23:34)

Perfect Love is returned.

1 John 3:16
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."

Love goes forth seeking a return that fellowship may be formed. When we love someone, we do so seeking to be united as one with them in community. We do not love so that they may abuse our love taking advantage of the gift we have to offer. We love that the object of our love might enjoy this gift in thankfulness and appreciate. In this way, love is shared and love is one.

Ephesians 4:16
"From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."

There are countless ways that love is returned. Some include: trust, loyalty, faithfulness, appreciation, penitence, respect, delight, and birth of more love.

Some important notes:

• Love bears choices, feelings, and actions but is not limited or defined by these three. We may feel love, but love outlasts feeling.
  
• Love comes from the heart and is expressed in deed by an intentional choice—the lover acts from the desire of the heart and the decision of the mind seeking to be enjoyed by the beloved.
  
• Love acknowledges the existence of self while denying it in seeking what is best for the one it loves.
  
• Love realizes the relationship of coming together as one and considers how life may be lived best for the good of the loved ones.
  
• Love is made complete when lovers share their lives in an everlasting union of righteousness.