Love, What Is It?

 

As Valentine's Day approaches, I notice that many people take this time to reflect on the question, "What is love?" And it seems that the world has at least a few definitions of what it is. Notice, if you just look at the world and the society of the day, it seems like the definition of love is constantly changing.

But in the end, there's only one definition that matters. It's the only definition that I'm interested in discovering. And that is how God, the very Creator of love, defines it. God's Word is His love letter to us, His children. If we want to learn the true meaning of love, all we have to do is open up our Bible and read it!

What Does the Bible Say About Love?

 

Here are just a few of my favorite Bible verses that speak on love.

 

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
 Love never fails.
~1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

...that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days;...
~Deuteronomy 30:20

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.
~Psalm 5:11

You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
~Psalm 97:10

Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.
~Psalm 119:165

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
~Matthew 22:37

"And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
~Mark 12:33

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me."
~John 8:42

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
~John 13:1

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him."
~John 14:23

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I could go on and on! There are so many verses in God's Word that speak on love. This is just a tiny sampling.

So, as we celebrate Valentine's Day tomorrow, let us reflect on the true meaning of love expressed by God through His Son, Jesus Christ. And let us carry that into all of our relationships throughout the year.