What is Love?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Last week we covered the topic regarding sex and what the bible has to say about it. There is a lot more that could have been covered regarding sex, but we only covered what was necessary for our series.
Today we will cover the topic of love. What is love?
Woody Allen, a comedian, writer, and moviemaker once said:
“The heart wants what it wants. There’s no logic to those things. You meet someone and you fall in love and that’s that.”
What you might not know is that Woody Allen said this when he broke up with Mia Farrow after 12 years over his relationship with her daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. At the time Allen was 56 years old and Previn was 22.
So is love really what the heart wants? Desire can be dangerous and love is not a game.
The bible teaches us in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
We cannot simply trust in our heart to be the guide as it will cause us to do foolish things.
So what is love? That is the question we will set out to answer, first let’s look at one of the most popular passages of scripture regarding love.
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.
Really what we have here is a bad chapter break, this entire passage really begins back in chapter 12:28 and continues that thought through chapter 13.
Websters dictionary defines love as:
strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties
I’m sure we all know that the Greek word used here is Agape, which is the strongest word for love in the Koine Greek language. Interestingly enough, the word was very rarely ever used in non-Christian Greek literature. The word itself only became popular because of God’s Word, so meditate on that for a moment.
Love is Essential
Love is Essential
1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
God’s word makes it very clear that love is essential to the believer. It not only speaks of it here but many times throughout the book of 1 John.
for instance John tells us several times the importance of love in the life of a believer.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
What Love Looks Like
What Love Looks Like
So we know that love is essential, but how can we identify?
We often view love as a mere feeling that we have for someone, today we use the term loosely to place emphasis on a passion or desire.
4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Do you notice anything significant about this list?
They are actions.
Love is not a feeling but an action.
You might be saying to yourself, wait, I have a feeling that is love inside my heart. The problem is that if the feeling only persists in your heart and never leaves, do you really ‘love’?
Love must be demonstrated not simply stated.
What is the opposite of love?
Indifference.
You might be tempted to say hate, but the dictionary defines hate as:
to feel extreme enmity toward : to regard with active hostility.
But it defines indifference as:
marked by a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern for something.
See hate has a feeling attached to it that stems into a hostile action and in such a relationship, if someone hates you (for instance after a break up) that means there are still feelings and emotions attached to that relationship.
Someone who feels indifferent has lost all feeling because there is nothing that interests them or pulls them back. This is the worst place to be, as indifference will not trigger any action in a relationship.
Someone who is indifferent may not even be moved by counseling or other means.
It is easy to be indifferent.
God’s word instructs us that love is essential, but it also demonstrates love so that we might also show we have love.
Example:
Jesus is the example, right?
One instance really sticks out to me, when Jesus saw the multitude.
14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. 15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. 16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.
The cross reference to this passage is Mark 6:34-37. Here it is known that Jesus is teaching them.
34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. 35 And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: 36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. 37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?
Now the Greek word here for compassion is splanchnizomai means:
to feel the bowels yearn, to have compassion; to pity
Now despite the word here being different, it is not difficult for us to see that the idea conveyed here is that Jesus loved them, and he showed it by His actions towards them.
What about one of the most quoted verses in the bible?
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
This is Jesus speaking of Himself to Nicodemus. Which in this verse He states that God did not simply say that He loved us, God showed how much He loved man by action.
What would this look like if God were indifferent toward us?
Well Romans 5:8 would sound much different if God were indifferent toward us.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Jesus showed us that love is action.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
The apostle John also gives us instruction:
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
I’m going to be personal here, verse 17 has been on my heart a lot over the last several months. I think mainly because God has dealt a lot with me regarding generosity. How can I say I love God who loves abundantly without grudging and I struggle at times with being overly generous.
Why? Well, if I’m honest, it’s because I’m indifferent.
So how then do I identify love?
Well lets look at the list;
patient, kindness, not envious, not boastful, not prideful, not easily provoked, does not rejoice in evil, etc....
The Permanence of Love
The Permanence of Love
Love is not temporal.
What we have done in love will last, and there will be fruit that abounds on your eternal account.
8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
The things of this world will pass away but what we have done for Christ will last, but they must have been done in love or they are worthless.
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.