This is the first study of a series called 
"Love in the Bible". 
Join me on a journey through God's word
 and learn what true love really is all about.

So let's get started ......

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, 
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
 all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
 and with all thy mind. 
38 This is the first and great commandment. 
39 And the second is like unto it,
 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 
God gives us two specific commandments
 both in the new testament and in the old. 
They are consistent throughout the bible
 from beginning to end. 
The key to understanding what these 
commandments really and truly mean, 
is to know what God means when 
He says love.

 

Did you know that there are 280 
instances of scriptures in the bible
 containing the word love? That tells me 
that He truly wants us to fully comprehend,
 and put love to work in our lives. 
It must be very important. So, let's 
take a journey together. Let's learn what it 
is that God freely offers to us and wants
 us to understand and grow in. 


What do you think of when you hear
 the word "love"? 
A warm fuzzy feeling inside, 
that makes you happy? A term of endearment 
to describe the emotions that come up 
from within, towards some one or some thing?


 
"I love my family, I love my husband or wife,
 I love ice cream, I love sleeping in, etc..."
 Do they all mean the same thing?
 
Do I love ice cream as much as 
I love my husband? Certainly not. 
The definition of love, I believe,
 varies depending on how it is used, 
or we simply categorize "everything" 
under the term of love. 
It can be one or the other, or both. 


How does the definition of "love" differ 
from what the "world" has coined it to be
 and what God means it to be? We need to 
truly understand what "love" means before 
we can apply it in our lives.

 
Let's take a look:
 
The dictonary gives the definition of love as this: 
1. Deep affection and warm feeling for another. 
2. Emotion of sex and romance. 
3. A beloved person. 
4. A strong fondness or enthusiasm.



In the Greek language, the word love 
is broken down into 4 words to 
describe it's meaning.
 Because as you see up above, 
there are different "types of love"
 or meanings of the word, 
all clumped into one single word
 in the English language. 

So indeed one could say 
"I love my husband or wife,
 and I love ice cream" 
with the same enthusiasm 
and we just "know" that it 
is different. 

Agape is word used for the love of God.
 
It means unconditional, freeing,
 non-reciprocal, other centered. 
It is primarily used when referring
 to God's love for His children.
 And outside of its use in the 
bible it is rarely used. 

Storge means to cover over, 
protect- a natural emotion 
"feeling love" 
(ie: love for your children, 
mother, father generally speaking)
 

Eros is passionate, erotic,
 intoxicating 
As described above, and emotion
 of sex and romance. 

Phileo describes being strongly 
attached to, a sharing of common 
interests. 

So you see, there is a huge difference
 in the meaning behind the word love.
 

And God wants us to understand 
fully and completely what He
 means when He says :

 
To love the Lord your God
 with all your heart, mind,
 and soul, and to love your 
neighbor as yourself. 
He also wants us to realize
 what it means when He says 
He loves us. 

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 
is a perfect description 
of what God's love is: 
*Kings James version uses 
the word "charity"* 

1Co 13:4 ¶ Love suffers long, 
and is kind; love doesn't envy;
 love does not boast of itself,
 is not puffed up, 
5 Love does not behave itself unseemly,
 seeketh not her own, is not
 easily provoked, thinks no evil; 
6 Rejoices not in iniquity, 
but rejoices in the truth; 
7 Beareth all things, believeth
 all things, hopes all things, 
endures all things. 
8 ¶ Love never fails: 

Many times I have heard pastors
 and teachers use this example,
 and in case you hadn't or just needed 
to be reminded again (like me) 
haha
 Let's try this okay? 

Take the word "love" out of the
 above scriptures and replace
 it with "God".
 

Read the scriptures again. 
It fits doesn't it?
 Love is God.
 God is love. 

Now, take God's name out of 
there and replace it with
 your own name.
 

____ suffers long, and is kind.
 _____ doesn't envy, _____ doesn't boast
 of itself and is not puffed up. etc.....
 


Even IF we think that the love
 within ourselves applies in some
 of those instances. Truthfully, 
it is not humanly possible on our
 own to meet or fulfill the full 
definition of what "love" is. 

HUMAN Love vs. GOD'S Love 


Remember when we said God's 
love or Agape love was unconditional?
 

Human love is not. No matter how
 much we want to think that it is,
 or like it to be, it is impossible
 in our own strength.
 
Human love is "self" centered,
 generally based on anothers response 
to our love, how we feel, 
and what we think. 
"I love you if you love me back."
 "Your actions cause me to "feel" loved,
 therefore I love you." Now, in some
 situations you may disagree to an extent. 
And in all honesty I believe that 
it is possible to "feel love" for 
someone no matter how or what they
 do or say in return. 

But most often, human love is like 
I said, "self-based" and if it is
 not fed or returned, it dies. 
God gives us the emotions that we 
have within the human spirit.
 Giving us the need to be loved,
 accepted, and be able to reciprocate 
in the same fashion. 


When man fell from grace, 
I believe that is what caused
 the unquenchable need within
 ourselves to be amplified. 
Something that was "missing" 
causes us to search for love or
 whatever it is that will permanantly
 fill that void inside,
 throughout our lives. 


Look at society today; and throughout 
the past centuries as well.
 People have done just about every
 conceivable thing to attain that
 kind of love. They have lied, and
 cheated, stolen for love, killed 
and even died. All for the sake of
 love. Hundreds of songs have been
 written and sung. There are hundreds
 of books of poetry about love. 
Even the media has made trillions
 of dollars appealing to us through 
romance and love. And we thrive on it!


People will sacrifice almost
 anything and everything for
 the mere chance or possiblity 
of being loved. No matter the 
consequences or the end result. 

And yet altho, it seems that we 
may never recover from the heartbreak
 of un-reciprocated love, or have yet
 to find what makes us complete, 
even so, hope is never lost. 
The desire to fill that emptiness 
comes from within, and keeps us moving 
ever forward. Searching to find 
that which will make us complete. 

Soloman 8:6 says.... 

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, 
as a seal upon thine arm: for love 
is strong as death; jealousy is cruel 
as the grave: the coals thereof 
are coals of fire, which hath a 
most vehement flame. 


That desire, that yearning,
 that empty place, I believe is 
a special area within us, that no human,
 place or thing can fill. Only God can.
 He created us. Gave us life. It is due 
to Him that we exist on this earth and 
He alone, is the answer to filling that
 void. His desire is to have a loving
 relationship with us. 

God loves us unconditionally.
 There is absoloutely nothing 
we can do to earn that love. 
Nothing at all. And until we 
fully and completely understand 
that simple fact, we will continue
 to search and to struggle with a 
variety of experiences and emotions.

 
But oh the wonder of it all.
 Scripture says in Deut. 10:15... 

Only the LORD had a delight in 
thy fathers to love them, and he 
chose their seed after them, even 
you above all people, as it is this day. 

Let's face it, whether it be
 a parent or child, sibling or lover,
 at some point in our human relationships,
 we will fall short of their 
expectations or they will disappoint
 us. Not so with our maker. His love
 is constant, never changing. Bears 
all things, believes all things, 
hopes all things. His love is honest, 
kind, unconditional. No matter what 
my circumstances are. I don't have 
to be in a good mood, or try to be 
"perfect". There are no strings attached,
 no ulterior motives, no hidden agenda's
 with God's love. None of the reciprocating
 actions that we tend to think we "have" 
to do in order to recieve God's love.

 

He loves us because He chooses to love us. 
Look at Jeremiah 31:3 

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me,
 saying, Yea, I have loved thee with 
an everlasting love: therefore with
 lovingkindness have I drawn thee. 

In John 15:16, Jesus tells us.... 

Ye have not chosen me, but I have 
chosen you, and ordained you, that 
ye should go and bring forth fruit,
 and that your fruit should remain: 
that whatsoever ye shall ask of the
 Father in my name,
 He may give it you. 

God chose you! God loves you! 

Let those words sink in. 
Accept them, plain and simple.
 We tend to want to complicate 
things, instead of keeping it simple.
 It's a statement and it's a fact. 

When we accept Jesus Christ 
as our personal saviour,
 He enters into our heart and 
begins to so some housecleaning. 
He takes our thinking, our values,
 our actions and begins to show us
 how different they are from how they
 should or could be if we let Him. 


We're going to spend alot of time 
learning what God's love is.
 I believe that it is significant 
in our walk with Him, and in our
 relationships with others. 

Human love is not perfect, but
 God's is. And so our responsibility
 is to be an open vessel so that 
God can show His love through us. 


I'd like to recommend that
 you start a journal, and write
 down all your experiences with God 
on a daily basis. Not what you think
 He wants to hear, but what 
comes from your heart.
 
Then write down what the definition
 of love means to you. Be honest. 
This is between you and God. Ask 
Him to show you if there are any 
motives or reasons behind your love.
 Next make a list of those whom you 
love, and then write "why" next to
 their name.
 
And no matter what, don't beat 
yourself up!This study is not to
 point out our inadequecies and 
dwell in them. When God brings 
something to our attention it is
 not so that He can hold it over
 our heads in critisism. He simply
 wants us to acknowledge it and then
 give it to Him. He is faithful to
 forgive and replace it with His 
love and His goodness 
IF we will allow Him to. 


Memory Scripture :

1 Corinthians 13:4-8. 


And most of all, spend time
 in prayer. Ask Him to help 
you to accept His love in your life.
 The more time you spend with Him, 
the more you will get to know Him,
 and will love Him in return. 

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