So – what do you think? Do you know what love is? Most people define love as “a warm feeling in the heart.” But that could be indigestion or heartburn. So if you’re going to define love, you have to do better than that!
Do you realize that the Bible never defines love – it only describes it. That’s because love is not just an idea – it’s an idea put into action.
In 2 Corinthians 13:4-7, God shows us what love is. He says, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy, love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own; is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” Wow! Now that’s quite a description, isn’t it? That’s love in action, to be sure.
The word “love” here is the Greek word agape. Actually, it’s a very specific word for a kind of love that is based on a decision of the mind rather than an emotion of the heart. Agape is not “I like you,” but rather, “I’m going to do what’s right and good for you, even if it costs me a lot to do it.”
I have a friend, whose two-year-old son fell into the pool not knowing how to swim. My friend’s seven-year-old daughter saw it and jumped in to save him. But the water was too deep, and she wasn’t strong enough to swim while holding on to her brother. So she went under the water and kept jumping up with her hands extended to keep him afloat. When the family discovered what was happening, she had already taken on water and was about to drown. Later, when asked why she put her life at risk, she said, “But I had to save David!” Her only concern was for him – not for herself.
That’s agape love. It’s God’s love for us, and it ought to be our love for one another. Now you know the real meaning of the word.
Say – Do you think of others before you think of yourself? If you have God’s kind of love – you do!