What Is Love?

Descipleship

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16We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters.

– 1 John 3:16

8The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

– 1 John 4:8

5It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered,

– 1 Corinthians 13:5
(NASB® © 2020)

 

There is probably no topic that has been dealt with as often in literature and films as love in relationships. Love stories are interwoven everywhere, even when they are not the main theme. This alone shows that we humans long for love.

Natural love

But what is love actually? Most people would probably answer: being attracted to someone. That is undoubtedly part of it. This natural love, as the Bible calls it, is particularly evident in the area of marriage and family. The feeling of love is at its best in young people who have (just) fallen in love – when they have butterflies in their stomachs…

Without natural love

Natural love is a gift from our Creator and is obtained from a certain relationship with Him. The further man distances himself from God, the more he becomes a creature “without natural love” (Romans 1:31; 2 Timothy 3:3). Those who refuse to honor God fall into selfishness and self-love. In this way, man becomes a plaything of his desires and also ends up in “unnatural intercourse” (Romans 1:26), as we are increasingly experiencing today.

God is love

If we want to understand what love really is, we need to look at the One Who is love, namely God Himself, and what He has revealed about love. We quickly realize that divine love does not mean having a nice feeling for the other person. Love must also not be limited to “sweet” or “lovely.” It is hardly possible to formulate an exact definition of love (in the biblical sense), not least because God is love (1 John 4:8, 16).

Love – a conscious decision of the will

The Lord’s commandment to love one another as He has loved us (cf. John 13:34; 15:12) makes it clear that love requires a conscious decision of the will. Even if I do not like a believer, I am still obliged to love him (cf. 1 John 4:11). No one is exempt from this. And we don’t need to try to talk our way out of it. Anyone who has become a child of God has put on the new man and is sealed with the Holy Spirit. This enables us to love as the Lord loves us. Admittedly, this is a high standard.

Love loves to serve

1 Corinthians 13 describes in detail how God’s love unfolds in people: It is longsuffering, kind, without envy, does not boast … rejoices with the truth … endures all things. The heart of this list is: “It does not seek its own” (1 Corinthians 13:5). Love therefore does not seek its own advantage, its own well-being, but is willing to sacrifice and work for others. In the same way, the man Jesus Christ demonstrated the love of God: He loved us and gave Himself for us. At the same time, His sacrificial death was an offering and a sacrifice to God (cf. Ephesians 5:2).

Love loves to serve – that is its essence. It seeks the (spiritual) well-being of its neighbor and wishes him the best (in the sense of God). As far as possible, it is committed to this – in word and deed. The field of activity is wide. It begins with taking an interest in our brothers and sisters in faith and ends with the fact that “we owe it to ourselves to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). In between, there are many opportunities to show unfeigned love and to be sincere in it. As far as God is concerned, it is God Himself Who will make all things new. No creature can do that.

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