What is L.O.V.E.? (Matthew 22:36-40)

[razzelflabben]

I know, and I agree, I talked about it with Halbhh.

I saw your clarification after I posted thanks....I would add to the discussion that sometimes Love is despite our emotions not just in line with them

 

[GosDontez]

Many people go to I Cor. 13 to define Biblical love but that is a list of characteristics not a definition.

I have been in deep study of Biblical love for about 11 years now and this is the best definition we (my husband and I can come up with)

Love is putting another person above yourself in an act of humility creating a covenant whose intent/purpose is reconciliation/restoration.

By contrast, worldly love is a strong positive emotion.

Hey there. Thanks for responding. This "love" thing is a big deal in Christian terms, and I'm trying to both learn and apply.

Question, though. You and your husband's definition sound a lot like a characteristic, which according to your statement, isn't a definition.

Maybe I need to think more about your "definition", but am I missing something?

 

[GosDontez]

Three words ....

GOOD for ALL

Hey Thinker, thanks.

But like defining "love", "good" is another tricky word.

Good, as in morally right?
Good, as pleasurable?

What if someone loves a thing like a car? Is that moral rightness or pleasure?

 

[GosDontez]

I would hope that love is not an emotion. Emotions change like the wind.

That's an interesting perspective. Definitely gotta come back to this.

 

[razzelflabben]

Hey there. Thanks for responding. This "love" thing is a big deal in Christian terms, and I'm trying to both learn and apply.

Question, though. You and your husband's definition sound a lot like a characteristic, which according to your statement, isn't a definition.

Maybe I need to think more about your "definition", but am I missing something?

There are several parts to the definition but let me see if breaking it down helps...

Love is putting another above self in an act of humility...notice that humility, a characteristic is actually central to Love. Iow's where Love comes from God and God alone the core of love is humility, a humility that puts others above ourselves. This would be like saying cake is a sweet desert that is made from flour, sugar, and milk.

creating a covenant...is an important element to the definition. Again it's a characteristic and more because it defines the duration of the Love. Let's see, a comparison...Doughy is something that is under cooked. Many definitions have this characteristic component but still qualifies as a definition because it is more than just a list of characteristics. Doughy could be described as gooey, moist, runny, etc. but it is defined as under cooked or uncooked.

whose intent/purpose is reconciliation/restoration...most people don't even know that Love has a purpose. An example of this in a definition might be...taunt means to tease someone usually with insults. Again, the characteristic is more than just a characteristic it becomes part of the defining of the thing. Without "insults" taunt just becomes to tease which losses the meaning. The definition by default needs to include that characteristic for clarification of the definition...

Does that help?

 

[GosDontez]

Love takes no account of its own and lays down its life for the other, so it doesn't check first how we are feeling.

Oh! This is a brilliant excerpt here. What a way to look at this version of love. Too often the thought of losing one's physical life comes to mind and gets in the way. So I really like this bit of love logic.

THANK YOU FOR REPLYING!!!

 

[A_Thinker]

Hey Thinker, thanks.

But like defining "love", "good" is another tricky word.

Good, as in morally right?
Good, as pleasurable?

What if someone loves a thing like a car? Is that moral rightness or pleasure?

Good, as in beneficial to abundant living ...

A car can be beneficial to one's abundant life.

 

[GosDontez]

There are several parts to the definition but let me see if breaking it down helps...

Love is putting another above self in an act of humility...notice that humility, a characteristic is actually central to Love. Iow's where Love comes from God and God alone the core of love is humility, a humility that puts others above ourselves. This would be like saying cake is a sweet desert that is made from flour, sugar, and milk.

creating a covenant...is an important element to the definition. Again it's a characteristic and more because it defines the duration of the Love. Let's see, a comparison...Doughy is something that is under cooked. Many definitions have this characteristic component but still qualifies as a definition because it is more than just a list of characteristics. Doughy could be described as gooey, moist, runny, etc. but it is defined as under cooked or uncooked.

whose intent/purpose is reconciliation/restoration...most people don't even know that Love has a purpose. An example of this in a definition might be...taunt means to tease someone usually with insults. Again, the characteristic is more than just a characteristic it becomes part of the defining of the thing. Without "insults" taunt just becomes to tease which losses the meaning. The definition by default needs to include that characteristic for clarification of the definition...

Does that help?

Well, there is the Semantics of "defining definitions", but it's necessary because words mean things, and with good reason.

But, it may not be that there is a confusion here or a difference, as I think about this and as I read the other replies. Maybe just the two sides of the same coin somehow detached.

Coins have two sides, the OUTside and the INside. Or, its surface and its core. I've noticed that words tend to be that way also, depending on how you apply the statement. For instance...

"Nothing is an illusion."
"Nothing.....is an illusion."

See the difference? The exact same words, exact same sentence, but different perspectives, thus meanings, thus applications.

Love as both emotion AND action and its characteristics and provocation of feeling being definitions may be similar, if not exact.

Love (noun - feeling/emotion) as the INside core and love (verb - action) as the OUTside surface.

What do you think? (Did I just confuse? Lol!!!)

 

[Soyeong]

Oh! This is a brilliant excerpt here. What a way to look at this version of love. Too often the thought of losing one's physical life comes to mind and gets in the way. So I really like this bit of love logic.

THANK YOU FOR REPLYING!!!

You're welcome, though I don't think laying down your life for someone refers to losing your physical life, but to gaining it.

I recommend a couple of videos by Dan Mohler on becoming love and lot of his other videos:

 

[razzelflabben]

Well, there is the Semantics of "defining definitions", but it's necessary because words mean things, and with good reason.

But, it may not be that there is a confusion here or a difference, as I think about this and as I read the other replies. Maybe just the two sides of the same coin somehow detached.

Coins have two sides, the OUTside and the INside. Or, its surface and its core. I've noticed that words tend to be that way also, depending on how you apply the statement. For instance...

"Nothing is an illusion."
"Nothing.....is an illusion."

See the difference? The exact same words, exact same sentence, but different perspectives, thus meanings, thus applications.

Love as both emotion AND action and its characteristics and provocation of feeling being definitions may be similar, if not exact.

Love (noun - feeling/emotion) as the INside core and love (verb - action) as the OUTside surface.

What do you think? (Did I just confuse? Lol!!!)

a little more complicated than saying love is emotion, action, attitude and more but yeah I get it

 

[GosDontez]

Is "love" complicated? Well, based on the varying responses, it seems so. So I wanna try this basic definition in 'noun' form. Dictionary.com will be my inspiration:

"Love is a deep, caring, and passionate affection for someone or something based on some form of attraction or relational connection." - Gos Dontez -

THEN, there are the verbs as so described by 1 Corinthians 13.

So, is my definition sound?

What do you think?

 

[razzelflabben]

Is "love" complicated? Well, based on the varying responses, it seems so. So I wanna try this basic definition in 'noun' form. Dictionary.com will be my inspiration:

"Love is a deep, caring, and passionate affection for someone or something based on some form of attraction or relational connection." - Gos Dontez -

THEN, there are the verbs as so described by 1 Corinthians 13.

So, is my definition sound?

What do you think?

the problem I see with the definition you gave is that it is not able to be separated into noun and verb per say, it is both at the same time. In fact, the noun version you gave is basically the world version of love and is a very different thing from Biblical Love.

 

[GosDontez]

the problem I see with the definition you gave is that it is not able to be separated into noun and verb per say, it is both at the same time. In fact, the noun version you gave is basically the world version of love and is a very different thing from Biblical Love.

My apology for creating a problem. You are right. I often forget that the only person "in my head", is me.

Although verbs are nouns, just as every part of speech is a noun at its foundation, I did cause a problem. Again, my apologies.

 

[razzelflabben]

My apology for creating a problem. You are right. I often forget that the only person "in my head", is me.

Although verbs are nouns, just as every part of speech is a noun at its foundation, I did cause a problem. Again, my apologies.

it's a very difficult thing to define Biblical Love. I think the closest "short" definition is...God is Love

But even that presents problems because God is more than just Love He is the source of Love and more. Not to mention that though God is Love Love is not God. So more problems arise...I think maybe there is a reason why scripture doesn't "define" Love

That being said, consider this...what if the best definition for Love is not found in words at all but rather in how we live our lives both in public and in private? Scripture says that Love is putting others above ourselves...iow's putting their best interests above our own which is where we get into loving others as yourself that was already discussed but even this leaves out so much of what love is that it is kind of scary.

When I began studying Love I was aware of the teaching in scripture that Love is beyond our understanding and takes an entire body to even scratch the surface. About 10 years into the study I asked my husband if he had any clue just how big the topic really was. He agreed with me that even though we knew and understood it was a massive topic neither of us really had a clue just how big it really is.

 

[GosDontez]

To hopefully solve a problem I created, I now, restate a previous post.

In an effort to understand this "love" thing, I have been gathering responses to a basic question for some time now:

"What is love to you in 3 words or less?"

After adding the responses gathered here in this forum to the other responses acquired in my study, I presented a definition that I came up with based on those responses.

That definition is:

"Love is a deep, caring, and passionate affection for someone or something based on some form of attraction or relational connection."

I used Dictionary.com as a basis for noun and verb. So I hope that solves the problem I created, since it's not generally known that all parts of speech are nouns.

So, what do you think of this definition?

 

[GosDontez]

it's a very difficult thing to define Biblical Love. I think the closest "short" definition is...God is Love

Someone once said, "defining love is the easy part. It the doing that's hard."

I think that applies to your statement above. Here's why...

If it's true that God (of the Bible) is love, and all through the bible are examples of how God loves, then biblical love is not difficult to define, it's just difficult to do.

So with all due respect, I have disagree with biblical love being difficult to define, especially since it can be argued that it's exactly what Paul did in 1 Corinthians 13. And likely because someone like me asked the very same question back in those days.

With Paul being a Pharisee, who better (other than God) to define it by giving us the list of love's characteristics. Which, at its root, is the word 'character', thus, the ultimate character...God.

 

[razzelflabben]

Someone once said, "defining love is the easy part. It the doing that's hard."

I think that applies to your statement above. Here's why...

If it's true that God (of the Bible) is love, and all through the bible are examples of how God loves, then biblical love is not difficult to define, it's just difficult to do.

So with all due respect, I have disagree with biblical love being difficult to define, especially since it can be argued that it's exactly what Paul did in 1 Corinthians 13. And likely because someone like me asked the very same question back in those days.

With Paul being a Pharisee, who better (other than God) to define it by giving us the list of love's characteristics. Which, at its root, is the word 'character', thus, the ultimate character...God.

and yet that doesn't even really scratch the surface....

 

[razzelflabben]

To hopefully solve a problem I created, I now, restate a previous post.

In an effort to understand this "love" thing, I have been gathering responses to a basic question for some time now:

"What is love to you in 3 words or less?"

After adding the responses gathered here in this forum to the other responses acquired in my study, I presented a definition that I came up with based on those responses.

That definition is:

"Love is a deep, caring, and passionate affection for someone or something based on some form of attraction or relational connection."

I used Dictionary.com as a basis for noun and verb. So I hope that solves the problem I created, since it's not generally known that all parts of speech are nouns.

So, what do you think of this definition?

actually you just created a bigger problem...

 

[GosDontez]

and yet that doesn't even really scratch the surface....

Why not?

I don't think this is a surface issue, because God is a Spirit, and that's at the heart or core of all. So if that list Paul gave is of spiritual characteristics, thus, core, thus God, then what's this "surface scratching" you're referring to?

 

[GosDontez]

actually you just created a bigger problem...

How? You didn't include your reason.