Seeking Love From the Christian Viewpoint
Love is the most powerful thing in the world with enormous potential to give life. Since all the power that love has, we still live in a world that is hungry for love . Everyone is looking for love. We seek love, we think we have found it, and then we feel disappointed when the feelings disappear. Well, how does true love look anyway? What is the love that we all need and want? How will we know when we have found it? How is love from the Christian point of view?
Different Points of View of Love
Depending on who says it and what it expresses, love means different things to different people . Two people can commit to love each other, but they have different ideas of what it really means. Some think of being in love as an inexplicable feeling that we fall in and out, especially in today's society. Love can also mean selfless action on behalf of others. Some use the word love to refer to a desire for a sexual relationship. Even in everyday conversation we use the word love to refer to a variety of things. For example, I love music or I love my computer or I really love your hair like that.
Different Concepts of Love
Love can be a dangerous word because it can mean so many different things to different people that it can mean nothing at all. Love makes us vulnerable to being hurt, misunderstood, embarrassed or exploited. Some have been so hurt by the elusiveness of love that they have renounced it, totally washed their hands of it.
I hope that after reading this article and studying the scriptures for yourself that you find love it will not be so difficult to attain after all. It could help us, however, to make a distinction between the different types of love before moving on, then focus on the kind of Christian love that the Holy Spirit produces or on the kind of love of God.
Types of Love for Christians
In the Greek language there are four words that describe this act of love. I am not particularly interested in Greek words because I do not speak Greek, but in this case it helps us to better understand Christian love:
Love Eros
The first is Eros. It is from this word Eros that we receive the word erotic and romantic. What is basically the chemical reaction between a male and a female. During New Testament times, this word Eros was associated with lust. Love at this level is usually egocentric.
Love Philia
The second word is Philia . Philia is the kind of human love that comes out because we appreciate the kindness of others. Sometimes we say that I love him for what they did in my time of need, or for a community or a country. It is not romantic. It is more gratitude, admiration and respect.
Love Storge
The third word for love is Storge. This is the love that is shared between the members of the family, it is the one that we have the people we spend most of our time with. Between spouses, brothers and sisters, parents and children. This love is often conditional to some kind of relationship.
Agape love
And then there is Agape, the word that the Bible uses and the word that concerns us here. It is not love, of what: because I am loved, master. Nor is he the type of: I love you because I need you love. Agape is the kind of love that Jesus showed on the cross. Forgiving those who persecuted him. This love is sacrificial, it gives itself and is not deserved by the receiver.
Love those who are hard to love. The Agape is the hardest kind of love because it is the love of those who might feel we do not deserve it, loving even when we know we will not get it in return. It is the kind of love that the Holy Spirit produces in us and allows us to do things that we can not do for ourselves. It is not surprising that Paul puts it at the top of the Fruit of the Spirit list.
True love
One of the first steps to receive and release the kind of love of God is to recognize the difference between human love and a true love of God. The corrupt nature of man has no access to God's love. God is love and any man or woman who does not have God is separated from true love. Human love and God's love are not even in the same class. Basically, human love is selfish and the love of God is totally disinterested. Human love says, I will love you while doing what I want. The love of God is unconditional.
Characteristics of True Love
First Corinthians 13: 4-8 lists the characteristics of God's love. Few understand and appreciate the only thing that is the love of God. We relate the love of God in a similar way to how we have been loved. Our bad experiences prevent us from accepting the love of God by taking it to our level thinking that His love is conditional or proportional to our performance. This is how we all love each other, but God's love is different. It is like no other love you have experienced.
God's love never fails, even when we do it. The love of God is unconditional. We did not do anything to deserve it and therefore, God does not withdraw His love when we do not deserve it. God loves us because He is love, not because we are kind.
As we explore the characteristics of real love, prepare yourself for a revelation that will change your life. Then make the decision to renew your mind in the area of God's love. Ask the Lord to teach you again what your love is about.
Well now that we have known love from the Christian point of view, do not you want a little? It's free. Learn more about Christian images and articles similar to this on this friend page.
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