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

[GosDontez]

You are more confused than you realize...I never said that Love was too hard to define...I said that it was hard to define...I also offered a definition. So you are way more confused than you even think you are.

And I have YOU to thank for that. See...now I need therapy.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Hey there, 2PhiloVoid. Thanks for posting.

Since you have the antidote, stick me with some words of wisdom.

Other than the noun/verb/adjective descriptions, what are some other words you would use to describe "love"?

For brevity, use 3 words or less, if you please.

You're most welcome, brother GosDontez! And by the way, I'm glad you've joined us here at CF.

3 words or less for another description of "love," eh? Well, let's see.

How about: Charity given selflessly. OR, Compassion extended graciously. I'll stop there with the adverbial phrases. I want to give others a chance to contribute, too.

Peace,
2PhiloVoid

 

[GosDontez]

3 words or less for another description of "love," eh? Well, let's see.

How about: Charity given selflessly. OR, Compassion extended graciously. I'll stop there with the adverbial phrases. I want to give others a chance to contribute, too.

Peace,
2PhiloVoid

Well, for now, I think it's just you and me.

I think I ran Ms. razzelflabben off.

I truly miss her. Love ain't fun unless you're fighting!!!

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Well, for now, I think it's just you and me.

I think I ran razzelflabben

Could be. Some people here are tough customers.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Well, for now, I think it's just you and me.

I think I ran Ms. razzelflabben off.

I truly miss her. Love ain't fun unless you're fighting!!!

Speaking of fighting (or fight prevention), my wife is calling me from the other room. She wants to binge watch some 'Blacklist.' So, I'll be back in a few hours. If you have some ideas to bounce around, I'll have to catch you then. But, I do look forward to some further interaction with you here at CF, however here and there it can sometimes be.

Later,
2PhiloVoid

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Well, for now, I think it's just you and me.

I think I ran Ms. razzelflabben off.

I truly miss her. Love ain't fun unless you're fighting!!!

Looks like a made it back.

So, yeah. This 'love' thing isn't quite so easy to define. But when it real, it's like a drink of water to a parched mouth.

 

[GosDontez]

Looks like a made it back.

So, yeah. This 'love' thing isn't quite so easy to define. But when it real, it's like a drink of water to a parched mouth.

Um delivering pizzas. So me not back just yet.

But, I'll venture this, really quick, then you can cogitate.

Why is it hard to define? There's gotta be a reason. It was something I was trying too discuss earlier, but you may be aware of how that went.

So what's your take on why love is hard to define?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Um delivering pizzas. So me not back just yet.

But, I'll venture this, really quick, then you can cogitate.

Why is it hard to define? There's gotta be a reason. It was something I was trying too discuss earlier, but you may be aware of how that went.

So what's your take on why love is hard to define?

My take....? .....my take is that love reflects the meeting of different perceived needs among different individuals. One person may feel a need to be respected, another feels a need for security, or maybe a need for deep companionship. Yet another person may primarily need food, clothing, and shelter in addition to all of these other needs. There is diversity of need, and so we may feel confused about love.

The disturbing thing we can find in the middle of all of this is that there may be this little self-centered voice inside us that tells us not to let go, who demands to be understood but not wanting to understand. And that's the catch to love, I think, or at least one of the complications we experience. We may may find that while we have good intentions toward someone else, we don't really have within ourselves that which is needed to meet the needs of the other person. And so we may feel confused about love.

Moreover, we maybe don't even know what it is that we truly need, but then we find ourselves being asked by others to reciprocate with them...in kind even. At that point, we may realize we don't know or truly understand what is truly needed by another person, and we hedge and say, "love is hard to define."

So, we idealize definitions of love, but since we don't always know ourselves what is needed between ourselves and others, let alone truly care at times, we may feel confused about it all. Thus, here we are, somewhat stuck, trying to figure out what love is, not knowing for sure whether or not we are really doing it or expressing it.

But, we're human, what do we expect? On the whole, the "we" of humanity haven't expected a whole lot out of love, really. History shows us this. But, then, Jesus of Nazareth just showed up one day, out of the blue...and began to show us what love is, inviting us to look at the living, breathing embodiment we try so hard to define and idealize.

2PhiloVoid

 

[razzelflabben]

You're most welcome, brother GosDontez! And by the way, I'm glad you've joined us here at CF.

3 words or less for another description of "love," eh? Well, let's see.

How about: Charity given selflessly. OR, Compassion extended graciously. I'll stop there with the adverbial phrases. I want to give others a chance to contribute, too.

Peace,
2PhiloVoid

charity is in scripture another term for Love so that would be a problem for the definition...equally compassion though it is part of Love is not Love nor is it all there is to Love.

btw, just for clarity previously...for another poster...I thought of a better analogy than the 2+2 one...if I say a cake has both eggs and flour in it and you say, opps my bad, let me fix my mistake, I will just put eggs in my cake, there I fixed my problem...the issue is not my stupid but someone elses again not directed at you 2PhiloVoid.

 

[razzelflabben]

Um delivering pizzas. So me not back just yet.

But, I'll venture this, really quick, then you can cogitate.

Why is it hard to define? There's gotta be a reason. It was something I was trying too discuss earlier, but you may be aware of how that went.

So what's your take on why love is hard to define?

Love is hard to define because it is a supernatural love (aka God and from God) not natural.

 

[GosDontez]

My take....? .....my take is that love reflects the meeting of different perceived needs among different individuals. One person may feel a need to be respected, another feels a need for security, or maybe a need for deep companionship. Yet another person may primarily need food, clothing, and shelter in addition to all of these other needs. There is diversity of need, and so we may feel confused about love.

The disturbing thing we can find in the middle of all of this is that there may be this little self-centered voice inside us that tells us not to let go, who demands to be understood but not wanting to understand. And that's the catch to love, I think, or at least one of the complications we experience. We may may find that while we have good intentions toward someone else, we don't really have within ourselves that which is needed to meet the needs of the other person. And so we may feel confused about love.

Moreover, we maybe don't even know what it is that we truly need, but then we find ourselves being asked by others to reciprocate with them...in kind even. At that point, we may realize we don't know or truly understand what is truly needed by another person, and we hedge and say, "love is hard to define."

So, we idealize definitions of love, but since we don't always know ourselves what is needed between ourselves and others, let alone truly care at times, we may feel confused about it all. Thus, here we are, somewhat stuck, trying to figure out what love is, not knowing for sure whether or not we are really doing it or expressing it.

But, we're human, what do we expect? On the whole, the "we" of humanity haven't expected a whole lot out of love, really. History shows us this. But, then, Jesus of Nazareth just showed up one day, out of the blue...and began to show us what love is, inviting us to look at the living, breathing embodiment we try so hard to define and idealize.

2PhiloVoid

If there is one thing I prefer to do (even if I fail to do so at times) it's to make sure when dialoguing that there is on-the-same-pageness.

So are you saying...

Humans - confused about love, so hard to define.

Christ - clarity on love, so came to show us.

Would that be a fair summary?

(I strive for clarity and simplicity.)

 

[GosDontez]

I voted that love is both an emotion/action and noun/verb--it's synthetic rather than dichotomous.

Peace,
2PhiloVoid

Hey Philo,

Based on this reply, would you assign a number ratio to the emotion/action? If so, what would it be?

 

[GosDontez]

charity is in scripture another term for Love so that would be a problem for the definition...equally compassion though it is part of Love is not Love nor is it all there is to Love.

btw, just for clarity previously...for another poster...I thought of a better analogy than the 2+2 one...if I say a cake has both eggs and flour in it and you say, opps my bad, let me fix my mistake, I will just put eggs in my cake, there I fixed my problem...the issue is not my stupid but someone elses again not directed at you 2PhiloVoid.

Heeeyyyyyy, razzel's back! I'm all giddy!

And that analogy was for me. Ouch! Love sure does cause pain.

(Now on to my critique of this reply.)

razzelflabben, as a human affected by the fruited knowledge of good and evil, you make sense to me. Most of your replies don't, but you do.

Because of your replies, I am convinced you have a foggy idea of what love is. You keep trying to separate the noun from the verb and I'm convinced that's the problem.

With you being a teacher, I'm afraid for your students.

 

[GosDontez]

Love is hard to define because it is a supernatural love (aka God and from God) not natural.

Non-Christian Humans - their version of love...

Plus...

God - His version of Love...

Equals = Confusion, thus hard to define?

Would you agree?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

If there is one thing I prefer to do (even if I fail to do so at times) it's to make sure when dialoguing that there is on-the-same-pageness.

So are you saying...

Humans - confused about love, so hard to define.

Christ - clarity on love, so came to show us.

Would that be a fair summary?

(I strive for clarity and simplicity.)

That's a fair assessment, GosDontez.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Hey Philo,

Based on this reply, would you assign a number ratio to the emotion/action? If so, what would it be?

Hmmm. No, I don't think I'd assign a ratio. Rather, thinking in more wholistic terms, I see the relationship between these respective aspects of love [both noun and verb] as dynamic, and since this is Christian love we're talking about, both should be progressing in growth over time. Whether this all works itself out evenly or unevenly, I'm not going to guess. I'll leave that to the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Hmmm. No, I don't think I'd assign a ratio. Rather, thinking in more wholistic terms, I see the relationship between these respective aspects of love [both noun and verb] as dynamic, and since this is Christian love we're talking about, both should be progressing in growth over time. Whether this all works itself out evenly or unevenly, I'm not going to guess. I'll leave that to the work of the Holy Spirit.

GosDontez, you ask some great questions.

 

[GosDontez]

GosDontez, you ask some great questions.

You know, I've been told that. I often wonder if people are just blowing smoke around my ankles.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

You know, I've been told that. I often wonder if people are just blowing smoke around my ankles.

No, you have a gift. And besides, I'm a non-smoker.

 

[GosDontez]

That's a fair assessment, GosDontez.

So what about you? Is love hard to define for you, still? Or would you say that Christ has cleared it up?

And what about Paul's list in 1 Corinthians 13? Confusion or clarification?