As soon as the Christmas season is over, the stores put out their Valentine's Day displays. Thus as February approaches, many people think about love. The concept of love is probably confusing to a lot of people. You say that you love chocolate? Or that you love a warm fire on a cold night. Or that you love your mother, father, sister, and brother. You also love your best friend, your husband, or wife, and children. And you certainly do enjoy a warm embrace. Is it all the same kind of love? Or, perhaps as the song says, "What has love got to do with it?"
You certainly don't love your spouse the way or to the like degree you love chocolate. I sure hope not. I suppose you can get obsessed with chocolate to some degree, though. Love is certainly a whole lot more than just emotions, though. And it seems like everybody is an expert in this field, which doesn't make it easy to examine.
If you look at the animal Kingdom, you can see that the urge to procreate is built in. That's why extinction is not a common event. Only a man or woman, being made in the image of God, carries the extra dimension of love within, though. (Many dog lovers even have strong opinions on that topic.) See, love is not just feelings, It is commitment, sacrifice, and fidelity. Love is not something that just happens to you. You decide to love people. It's an inside job.
Many people go through life lonely because they deliberately isolate themselves. Isolation may keep you from being hurt, but it doesn't insulate you from feeling lonely. If you are in the basement or the attic all day long typing on your computer or watching videos or playing games, you are definitely not interacting with people. This can make it very difficult to find love in life, if that's what you're looking for.
Lonely people many times find themselves looking on web pages at singles sites. Or maybe they'll go to a bar or a club. Many people are actively looking for a partner of some kind at such places. However, sharks lurk in these waters too, so watch where you swim.
What's the best way to cultivate relationships? Start interacting. Get out and meet people. Build friendships. Share God's word with people and pray for them consistently. Out of your circle of friends will eventually emerge somebody special.
My parents attended the same church when they met. They were on the same page spiritually. They both were dating other people at the time, but it was God that brought them together. Remember, God has given us everything that pertains to life and godliness. What does He have to say about the subject? Plenty, actually. First, you have to look at the term "love."
Revelation 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
This word "love" is the Greek word phileo Which is generally understood as brotherly love. In Strong's Concordance it is #5368 and occurs 25 times. There are three basic usages:
In this verse, it is Jesus speaking. So, as our example, if we love somebody as a friend, we care enough about them to confront them when they are wrong. "Iron sharpeneth iron." A proper response to reproof and correction is zeal and repentance. So, phileo love is more than fondness. It's more than a fuzzy warm feeling.
John 21:13 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" (fish)
Three times, Jesus asks Peter if he loves Jesus. This is phileo love. Peter affirms this, and Jesus commands him to feed his sheep. Who were Jesus' sheep? The followers of Christ. Every pastor essentailly takes on this responsibility. As brothers and sisters in Christ, we share this responsibility to love one another and help out when we can.. It doesn't all rest on one man or woman's shoulders.
Matthew 10:37 "Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
The final usage of phileo we are going to consider is this one. I've included some previous verses, so we don't take it out of context.
Matthew 10:35-37 35For I have come to set a man against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, 36and a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
The devil is going to use the people you love and care for against you. Just expect to get push back from the people you deeply care about when you want to do the word. You have that deep phileo love for friends and relatives. However, God and Jesus must hold more sway over your heart than your loved ones.
The other word we're going to look at, you are probably very familiar with: agapáō.
Matthew 22:36-40 36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Jesus summed up the whole law in two commands: love God and love your neighbor. The example he uses of this is the parable of the good Samaratin. The man noticed a stranger who had been robbed, beaten up, and left for dead. He bound up the victim's wounds and took him to an inn to be taken care of. That's the kind of compassion we need to develop for people
This word "love" agapáō in Strong's concordance is #25 and occurs 142 times and in 39 unique forms and carries a couple basic meanings.
Most of us are familiar with agapáō as it is used in 1 Corinthians 13. The context of this chapter concerns the gifts, or more rightly, manifestations of the spirit. Without a love for people and God, your spiritual manifestations do not benefit you as a person. The King James Version of the bible translates agapáō as "charity" Yes, you walk by the spirit, but do you love?
1 Corinthians 13:1 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.
Without love, speaking in tongues is just noise.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,
If we love somebody, we are patient, kind, humble, not self-willed.
1 Corinthians 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
If we love somebody, we doen't act improperly,are not self-seeking, are not easily provoked, and do not keep a record of wrongs. Can you say forgiveness?
1 Corinthians 13:6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
If we love somebody, we don't not rejoice in unrighteousness, but we rejoice in the truth; We are not giggling when the motorist who just cut us off in traffic gets in an accident. Self control, Lynn…
1 Corinthians 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
According to the REV bible commentary on this verse, "Bears all things" is not about carrying a load that someone has dumped on us and we hold it up and carry it due to love. The word "bear" here is much closer to "endures" or even "suffers." The believer taps into God's strength to endure a lot of suffering..
These are just some examples you can find about love if you want to study it. Remember, love never fails according to 1 Corinthians 13:8. If you sow love, you will reap love. If you sow weeds, you get weeds. Watch the garden of your heart.
If you want a mate, ask God for one. You've gone to everyplace else, right? Why not try Him? Study the Word. Proverbs is an excellent place to go for that kind of practical advice. You have heard of the Proverbs 31 virtuous woman. It's all about character. Yes she dresses nice and takes care of herself, but the majority of the verses are about her character.
The Hebrew word for virtuous is chayil. Strong's definition is "virtuous, uprightness, and integrity, also strong or fit." In other places. The word "virtuous" is also translated "valiant." A woman wants a valiant man and a man seeks for a virtuous woman. In a way, the five senses don't matter that much.
You know, you can fall in love with anybody you set your mind to fall in love with. Is that a problem? If you're used to thinking by your senses, it is. You may have a picture in your mind of what the ideal man or woman looks like. I guarantee you it's probably not what your special person is going to look like. Having physical appearance standards is fine, but it is not more important than spiritual qualifications. To put it in a nutshell, you can have what you're looking for. You want to make sure your will lines up with God's. Sure love you guys.