Defining True love can be difficult, unexplainable but has a child of God and from the kingdom, we belong to, we can define love by the scriptural pattern. The bible description is the best and most effective.
Definition of love in the bible from the world perspective is having great interest and pleasure in something. Bible definition calls love agape which means original from God. Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous or bragging or self-important.
As we all know that we have four different kinds of love 1Corinthians 13vs1-24, which are agape, Storge Phileo, Eros.
Agape love is the highest level of love recorded in the bible. It is everlasting and sacrificial, it does not matter if the giver is appreciated by the gesture or loved back, he/she does it willingly. 1john4:8 say; He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Storge love: is described as inherited love. It describes the love bond between parent to children, husband, and wives, love among siblings. Also, its love that exists between families. The love is protective and loyal. An example is the show of love between Jairus and his sick daughter read Luke 8:40-56. Also the love between Martha and Mary grieving for their brother Lazarus Read John 11:1-44.
Phileo Love: This is love shared by close friends. The word phileo is expressly used in the bible and refers to the fondness and harmony shared by two close friends making it look like they are both from the same parent such an example can be seen when Lazarus died, we were told that Jesus wept. When he saw Lazarus’ body John 11:33-35. The point of when Jesus wept shows the depth of his love for Lazarus.
Another bible scripture is Romans 12:10. The bible instructs us to love each other with genuine affection and to take delight in honoring each other.
Eros love: is refers to romantic or sexual love and his root world is erotic. This kind of love is impure. Sexual love is a gift from God to married couples that they may express their love with each other till eternity.
Eros does not appear in the bible. The Song of Solomon tells us how a bride should express their passionate love to her husband. Songs of Solomon 1: 1-2. It clearly states that this is for couples together in marriage. The bible warns us against this kind of love because it leads to sexual immorality, Read 1 Corinthians 6vs18, Galatians 5vs19.
So by this, the bible which is our standard advises us to always engage in agape love towards one another being that it’s through love that God duals in us read 1john 4vs12 and it is through this love that we will make ourselves known to the world as Jesus disciples John 13vs35.
Living In Love Of God Within Our Community
- Have we asked God to teach us the way to love other people? It means we can love when there is nothing in for us.
- This can win the hardest person back to Christ. God wants us to do good to people that have ever done anything for us because this is the only way to keep the devil defected. Love is the greatest form of spiritual warfare.
- Love is an effort and it will cost you something, it can be your time, pride, or anything you can think about.
- You don’t except people that do not know the word to do anything right. If someone offended you have it in mind to do the right thing by speaking to the person first, do not keep a grudge with the person, this is the right thing to do as believers.
- No matter how people act around you in a bad way in any situation, you have to stay the same, this is how you show the unbelievers who you really are.
- The only way every bad character around us can change is by love, it will not come through preaching while we do nothing. Once we show people the love of Christ, it will not be hard to tell them about the Jesus we serve
- The greatest commandment of all is; Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. Then love your neighbor as yourself.
- If we can love ourselves equally and correctly all over the world, the world would have been a better place. No law can come against the fruit of the spirit.
- Believers have a lot of things to learn in Christ to be powerful Christians, when you walk in love, you cover too much. Love is not a natural gift for us but it is what God wants us to do and we can achieve that by just being friendly and complimenting people, giving good gestures.
- We don’t need to pray that God should meet the need of someone when we can really do it by ourselves but we just don’t want to do it. A lot of believers carry about Excuses Bag in their minds. Each time someone asks for help. We bring out one excuse after another. You can’t do everything for everybody but refuse to do anything for anybody.
- As a believer we must learn how to take our own problems out of our mind and focus on someone else need. Look after God’s Business and he will make sure you are settled for life. You overcome evil with good. Put on, love. You are not dressed properly if you do not show love. Some believers are willing to do what the ministry says but will not show love.
Showing Love To Difficult People With Proper Altitude.
- When we say difficult people, we mean someone with some obvious personality attribute that make it hard for you to communicate with them.
- In other to really show love to these kinds of people, you must pray for yourself to have a proper altitude before we even bother to pray for them.
- Don’t ever pray to God about someone behavior if you do not approach God’s presence with a humble heart, it is not the right thing to do.
- Just because we think we know what is wrong with someone’s behaviour, does not mean we have the full knowledge about it.
- Pray to see your own fault in any matter, because if you do, it will make you to be more patient to love that person and it will add more humility and love to yourself read Mathew 7vs3-4. You can’t love another person rightly if you do not love yourself.
- Then pray for them to be all that God want them to be in Life, pray that God should open there eye to actually see when they hurt people.
- Pray that God will help them get to the root of their problems.
- Do not be judgmental towards them, it will not make you go far in life as a Christian; spend more time with them than you do with yourself on your own personal problem.
- This function takes a lot of Sacrifice to do and we should be glad to do them because we are not going to live forever. It part of living in love of God as his disciples.
- Pray for discernment for yourself as a believer, do not overreact on a particular issue, discernment gives you deeper perspective about people and situation, it more than what we see or think, it gives you the just right way to handle situation with people remember true love is not judgmental read John 8vs1-11.
- Be ready, always ready to forgive them often. So you must make up your mind to forgive before they hurt you. It means you have more love to give than hate. It’s not easy but we must do it read Ephesians 4vs32, Mathew 18vs21-22.
- In conclusion, God is Love. Believers who do not show love is already dead in the spirit and he/she do not have part in God.
- So when we love one another and even people that is not related to us, people of the other religions. We are fulfilling God’s most dynamic fundamental wish for our lives as a Christians and true ambassador to God’s Kingdom.
- Pray that God should give you the Grace to live and walk in Love all the days of your lives. Amen.