What is love in the bible? The Greek word agape is the source of the word. It means affection, benevolence, goodwill, and concern for another’s welfare. It is deliberate and purposeful in its action. In the Bible, agape is sometimes translated as charity, which takes on the idea of helping the poor or those who are in need. The biblical definition of love is: “to endure all things, whether we feel sorry for ourselves or for others.”
In 1 Corinthians 13, the question “what is love in the Bible” is answered in absolute fashion as follows:
- Love is patient…
- Love is kind…
- Love does not envy…
- Love does not boast…
- Love is not proud…
- Love does not dishonor others…
- Love is not self-seeking…
- Love is not easily angered…
- Love keeps no records of wrongs…
- Love does not delight in evil…
- Love rejoices with the truth…
- Love always protects…
- Love always trusts…
- Love always hopes…
- Love always perseveres…
- Love never fails…
The Bible defines love as the affection and respect we have for our neighbors. The Bible describes it in terms of inward attitudes and outward deeds. For example, eros is the most intense kind of sexual desire and is the origin of the word erotic. The zeal we feel for our neighbor must be equal to the zeal we have for our own. And if we aren’t loving our neighbor, the consequences can be very damaging.
The Bible speaks about love in two ways. It can be directed towards people or things. The former is simply loving a thing, while the latter refers to a person. The first type of love involves enjoying a thing. In the Old Testament, brotherly love refers to a kind of friendship. In the New Testament, love toward people relates to a person. The second kind of love is the one that has a moral and ethical foundation.
Love in the Bible includes concern for enemies. In Romans, we find that love is patient. This kind of love is not proud or self-centered. It does not take advantage of others or seek its own good. It also doesn’t keep a record of wrongdoing. Therefore, we can say that it is the most noble way to live. And in our day and age, we must never forget to show our love for those around us.
The Bible has different ways of defining love. There are two kinds of love: friendliness and brotherliness. As the word implies, brotherly loves is a love between two people. It has no sexual connotations. In the Old Testament, phileo is a Greek word that describes a friendship. This word is used to describe God’s laws. It is also the basis of the enduring kind of faith.
I’ve been asked the question, “what is love in the bible?” more times than I care to remember. It seems that everyone has a different definition of love. That is, some would say, it is lust while others would call it a form of compassion. What is love to one may be hate to another and yet, all of us have that desire to love.
The Bible, obviously, offers us an answer to this question. In fact, it is a good book to read for just about any subject under the sun. If you don’t know where to start, though, I can help get you pointed in the right direction. So, let’s begin with what is love in the book of Romans.
Love, in the first place, is defined as a bonding by one of two things. It can either be love for a person or a bonding of affection or “mateship.” We need both of these to form any real bond. And, in order to form that bond, we have to give each other the attention, respect, and caring that each deserves.
Love is about more than just exchanging our love and kisses. It is about the way we treat each other. In the book of Romans, we find verses that teach us what is love: that God loves us because He has made us in His image, and that He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us. Those two words are powerful enough to rock our emotions at the very thought of that love. But wait, don’t just read that one line and then go off and cry; instead, read the next few lines as well.
God created us to fellowship with each other. This is the nature of marriage, the nature of human love, and the nature of god’s love for all of us. Marriage means two people spending every day together doing something that is of great value to one another. The Bible also teaches us that Jesus Christ went down to visit his father’s house, and this is what is known as the family of God. This means that we have an example of love and bonding between us and our loved ones back at home.
This is why it is so hard to find love in the bible. Love is supposed to be shared. Instead, what you are finding is most often love for someone else. The bible does not teach us to share love, instead, it encourages us to see our own shortcomings and idiosyncrasies and concentrate on how well we can forgive those things that might make us unlovable. So, the next time that you read what is love in the bible, take time to focus on all that God has done for you, and for the person that he gave it to.
When we are ready to forgive others, it is important to remember that we all deserve forgiveness. Sometimes, we will need to remind ourselves of that. After all, Jesus Christ set a pretty high standard. If we are willing to follow him, and want to walk in the footsteps of our beloved Lord and Savior, we should be willing to forgive those who have abused us. We need to remind ourselves that forgiveness is not only for a victim, but it is also for the oppressor, or the one who unjustly oppressed us.
So, after reading what is love in the bible, what do you think? Is forgiveness that hard? I know it can be hard to hear that forgiveness is a choice, but if you’re going to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, you will have to learn to forgive. It is the key to eternal life, and without it, nothing is possible. If you need help with your forgiveness questions, or would just like some additional insight on what is love in the bible, feel free to contact us at anytime.
This is probably the best article about what is love as per the Bible. Would like also to share below:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient and loving and is not a boaster or a liar and isn’t rude or arrogant. It doesn’t want to be a slave in its own ways; it’s not angry or angry. It doesn’t rejoice over mistakes, but is awed by the truth. Love is all-encompassing is a faith that believes in everything and hopes for all things. It endures through all things. Love never ends.
Commentary: Love is the common thread in our relationships with God or to other people or even to ourselves. As Christians who follow Christ Love is our characteristic.
Love is a word that is difficult to define. It is often interpreted as a emotion of love and affection. Biblically the word “love” has deeper and deeper meaning. It goes beyond emotion or feeling. This is what we can see in 1 Corinthians 13. Paul says that love isn’t just the feeling of love, but also a way of connecting with others.
Although most of us are somewhat acquainted with 1 Corinthians 13, slowing down to read it can allow us to discover subtle beauty that we would otherwise not notice. In this timeless chapter about the love of God, Paul uses poetic symmetry to make his point more clear. Paul lists 8 things that love accepts and eight things that love opposes.
In these passages, Paul instructs us about the things we should be able to hold onto and what to let go of. Paul provides us with a system to deal with any circumstance with the love of God. Sometimes, we’ll need to take actions which are not in our comfort zone. Other times we’ll have to do things that seem normal to us. In both instances we are able to go beyond our emotions in order to impart our lives to others.
It is possible to begin with putting these practices into practice by sharing these principles with our closest friends and our family. As Christians we can’t stop there. As stated in 1 Corinthians, we’re called to show love to all people God introduces in our world. As I type this, we’re living in extremely nervous and unsettling moments as a deadly disease has spread across the globe. It’s simple for fear to become a factor and influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. The good news in gospel is the fact that Christians can find a solution to overcome fear, which is courageous love (1 John 4:18). We’ve been a part of this love and are now given the chance to give it to other people.
How can we make this happen?
Once quarantines are lifted and people can return to normal schedules, a lot of people will need assistance. If a family is in crisis, children can be vulnerable to neglect and in some cases even abuse. We at Bethany we believe that no family should be in this. As part of our Safe Families for Children ministry and volunteers, Host Families offer loving care to parents, looking after their children, and offering a caring and loving community to the entire family as parents recover their peace. Host families from our ministry demonstrate the love and compassion that is Jesus towards families at times in need.
Find out more about how to become Host Family.
Deeper Engagement
Pick one of the items from each of the lists above (embrace or resist) and develop a strategy to implement it.
What are the actions you can adopt to be a better person for those who are close to you?
How can you be more loving to your neighbor by practicing these behaviors?
Prayer
Father, I thank You for the courage You’ve shown me by way of Christ. Thanks for the kindness, patience and determination You show me every day. When I am savoring the goodness of You in my own life, I ask You will also allow me to be an source of goodness to others. Let my mind and heart be open to ways in which I can show the compassion and love of Christ to my neighbors within my own community and throughout the globe. Amen.