What Does the Word "Love" Mean?

What does the word “Love” Mean?

What does the word “love” mean? Is love an emotion or an action? What does the world say about it? The official definition as it appears on Dictionary.com is: as a noun love means an intense feeling of deep affection. As a verb, love is described as the feeling of deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone.[1] The American Heritage Dictionary defines love as “an intense affection for another person based on familial or personal ties”.[2] Keep in mind these definitions are the definitions the world assigns to this awesome word. The meaning of the word as it applies to the definition Jesus places on this word, does not compare or even come close. The world would like to keep the word love as an emotion that creates a reaction, when in truth the word love is an action that produces an emotion.

Jesus gives a great example of what love is supposed to be in Matthew 25: 40-45. It is a very different concept than what the world presents. As I mature in my Christian walk I am discovering that the world seems to corrupt all the “good” things that God has given us. In this example Jesus paints a great picture of what He intends love to be. Jesus intended love to be something we do, not just something we feel.

New International Version (NIV) ⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ ⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ ⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ ⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these; you did not do for me.’

Jesus is the greatest example of love. Jesus loves you so much He will meet your needs no matter how trivial they may be. The love of Jesus will leave you lacking for nothing. Humanity is starving for true love. People seek this love in physical relationships; sex is often confused for love. Society is confused when it comes to love because true love has not been experienced. When a person comes to know Jesus, that person will discover love. Society is being bombarded with a corrupted illustration of love. Godly love has to compete with the definition Hollywood and the music industry gives it. Love is perfect in its beauty and love is contagious as love makes everything it touches beautiful.

God demonstrated love to me in my own life. I still get it wrong from time to time. I received a wonderful illustration of love the day I gave my heart to Christ. The fact is that before I learned what love is supposed to be, I believed in the world’s definition. The world says that we fall in love with people when we are attracted to them, or when they do things that make us feel good. In other words we require emotion and gratification in order for us to assign the word love to the way we feel about someone. It is easy to see why people can fall in love with objects like cars, houses, clothes, etc… In the American Heritage Dictionary definition you will notice the key phrase “based on”, which means that there is a requirement assigned to this emotion. Jesus assigned no requirements when He died on the cross, He did not die for those who provided Him with emotional gratification or for those who were familial, or those who had personal ties, he died for all mankind.

The world’s definition of love implies love is conditional, in other words, we love someone because they fulfill a condition or a need met. People must meet a certain criteria before we allow ourselves to love them. So if the man on the corner of the intersection, begging for money, does not meet one of our needs, we are not required to love (help) him. A person may say, “Well, I gave him money and I felt good about myself”. Well, did they give him money to score points with God, or did they give him money to bless him. Blessing him is the manner that God want us to use to share His love. If you are obedient to God, He will exalt you for your obedience. There is nothing wrong with receiving enjoyment in helping people. Meeting the needs of others should provide you with enjoyment and happiness. When the intention of helping is committing the act to be exalted by others, and not helping others to share the love of Jesus. This is when the act becomes wrong because the person is only acting to seek the reward of exaltation.

When love is conditional, this provides people with the choice to fall in and out of love. The option to fall in and out of love is the cause of the high rate of divorces in the United States. “Campbell has estimated that 85% of adults in the U.S. will marry at some point in their lives and 94% are expecting to marry an ideal partner or ‘soul mate’. Americans marry at higher rates than people in all other parts of the world”.[3] Americans marry for love and spend their lives before marriage planning and dreaming about the event. The majority of people marry with good intentions. It is acceptable in this day and age to acquire a back-up plan in case things don’t work out in their favor. People plan for the divorce before they get married, and this plan is agreed upon by both parties. People discovered that those who marry for love have their relationship eventually become fragile due to economic, social, and political situations. Marriage is an institution created by God to last; it took humans to mess it up. Instead of “till death do us part”, it is “till I am no longer happy” that brings an end to a marriage. We allowed the world (and the enemy) to define love and in doing so, we allowed the sanctity of marriage to cheapen. Marriage has become more of a business agreement, and if business is not satisfactory, people are under no obligation to stay in business. The business then is dissolved due to a disagreement in business practices.

It has been reported in marriages of those who marry for love, 20%-25% of couples end up in extra-marital sexual relationships, and over 50% end up in divorce.[4] The numbers are much higher in second marriages. The world has the definition of love wrong. If people are marrying for love, shouldn’t the infidelity and divorce rate be much lower? After all, if we are using Jesus’ definition of love will we hurt those we love? Absolutely not, I am one of those statics. I was married twice. It was only by the power and love of my Father in Heaven I am still married today. It is only by His grace my family is together today. We are survivors of the world’s definition of love. The world states it is normal for people to fall out of love. The enemy (Satan) has made it the “norm” for people to get divorced and remarried over and over again until they get love right. I promise you, if you follow Jesus’ example of love, it is possible to get it right the first time. Jesus’ idea of marriage is a covenant. A covenant should never be broken unless someone in the relationship dies. A husband should love his wife as Jesus loved the church, and He died for His church.

How many times has someone said, “I love you because you are cute”, or “I love you because you take good care of me”. How about, “I love you because you are fun to be with”?  There is no “because” when it concerns God. When we use the word “because”, we are attaching a reason or a condition to love. Love is not difficult when it is a reaction instead of an action. Jesus makes it clear that love should be an action. Jesus said in Luke 6:32-36, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”.

It is easy to love those who love us first or to love someone who meets a need we have in our lives. What happens when we are required to love those who do nothing for us, or to love those who do us wrong? Love is not the easiest thing to give sometimes, but isn’t that what God does for us? Jesus does this for us every day and this is the intention of love. How does a parent love their children? Do they only love them when they are good and the meet the needs of the parents, or do they also love them when no one else can? People are not perfect and this is the reason for the Gospel, we can never meet the strict guidelines of the law. If God used the Law to gauge the amount of love He would be giving us, it would not be love. God is our Heavenly Father and He loves us exactly the way a Father would love his children, actually He loves us even more. He gave His only Son to die on a cross so we, his children, would spend eternity with Him. I am a father and I do not believe I could give up one of my children for those who rejected, disobeyed, and defied me.

Love is a gift that is designed to be freely given not earned. Love is something that is selflessly poured out on someone. The Scriptures do not indicate requirements that a person needs to  meet in order to be loved, but there are instructions on how we should love. It appears the general theme of the entire Bible is love. This is the reason it is so important for me to write this book. I have no doubt love is the central theme of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; we certainly did not earn His death on the cross. In the NIV version of the Bible the word “love” occurs 508, and words with “love” in them (loved, lovely, etc…) occur 801 times. If the word “love” appears in the Bible that many times it must be important. The entire concept of redemption and salvation is the result of love. God loves you so much He did not spare His own Son so you would be saved (John 3:16). You do not have to dig very deep to see the picture of Jesus in the entire Bible. In the Old Testament as well as the New Testament you can find Scriptures that illustrate the work of Jesus. A great example can be found in Isaiah 53.

New International Version (NIV)

53 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? ² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. ⁴ Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. ⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. ⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. ¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.¹¹ After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. ¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isa. 53).

It is important to me to use a great amount of Scripture because I want God to speak for Himself. This way the true meaning of love can be described in its purest form. God is love. Love does not exist without Him. Until a person discovers how much God loves them and how God loves them, they will never be able to share real love with another person. You are of great importance to Jesus. The understanding of this is so important. You must come to realize how wonderful you are to your Lord and Savior. First you must be able to receive love before you can give love. Many of us are living in an illusion of love and we don’t know what real love is. God wants you to experience his love and He wants you to have the ability to share His love with the world. What is life without love? This world is a lonely place without love. It is time for you to open your heart and allow Jesus to fill your heart with real love. So you may be filled with the love that does not die or fade away. It is time for you to come to know the love that is worth dying for, and most importantly, the love that is worth living for. This is what the world is missing and the world is in desperate need of love, and you have access to it. You are the holder of this wonderful treasure and once you grab a hold of it, everything will change in your life. That is what love does, it changes your life. You will never be the same again.

Blessings, and join us next week as we continue this message. Do not forget to go to the “Welcome” page: http://69.89.31.219/~authorjp/

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