What is Love?
“Love is a physiological motivation such as hunger, thirst, sleep, and sex drive.”
“Love is GOD”, but what does that mean? Who is He?
Friendship: This type of love involves liking someone and sharing a certain degree of intimacy.
Infatuation: This form of love often involves intense feelings of attraction without a sense of commitment; it often takes place early in a relationship and may deepen into a more lasting love.
Passionate love: This type of love is marked by intense feelings of longing and attraction; it often involves an idealization of the other person and a need to maintain constant physical closeness.
Compassionate/companionate love: This form of love is marked by trust, affection, intimacy, and commitment.
Unrequited love: This form of love happens when one person loves another who does not return those feelings.
There is no single way to practice/rehearse love. Every relationship is unique, and each person brings their own history and needs. Some things that you can do to show love to the people you care about include:
Be willing to be vulnerable.
Be willing to forgive.
Do your best and be willing to apologize when you make mistakes.
Let them know that you care.
Listen to what they have to say.
Prioritize spending time with the other person.
Reciprocate loving gestures and acts of kindness.
Recognize and acknowledge their good qualities.
Share things about yourself.
Show affection.
Make it unconditional (unrestricted, unreserved, pure and unlimited).
1 John 4:1-21
1. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from GOD
2. …and whoever loves has been born of GOD and knows [deeply relational and experiential] GOD.
3. …anyone who does not love does not know GOD, because GOD is Love.
4. In THIS, the Love of GOD was made manifest among us, that GOD sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
5. In THIS, is love, not that we have loved GOD but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [kappareth: Mercy Seat] for our sins.
6. We have come to know and to believe the love that GOD has for us. GOD is Love, and whoever abides in love abides in GOD, and GOD abides in him. 17 By THIS, is love perfected [complete and made whole] with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is, so also are we (His Love) in this world.
7. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment ["gemul" - in Torah, both reward and punishment aim to cure the soul to receive GOD's Light fully] and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
NOTE: This is not a description, but a statement of declarative fact: “We love because He first Loved us. If anyone says, “I love GOD,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love GOD whom he has not seen.”
8. Love is a Commandment we have from Him! “Whoever loves GOD, MUST ALSO love his brother.”
Indifference [lack of concern or apathy] is lack of awareness in someone or something. Indifference is a powerful force, often hidden in detachment or naiveté.
Love is a thoughtfully deep and caring affection towards someone. The opposite of love is not hate, but rather an absence of any emotional attachment or concern. Love thrives on compassion, understanding, and a desire for closeness, while indifference isolates and separates individuals from one another. Indifference (apathy) is usually considered as the opposite of love within romantic relationships, as it constitutes a lessened interest in the other.