Challenge: Define Love

[cupotea]

Recently, my Bible Study group was trying to define Biblical love. It can be very hard to come up with a one-sentce definition!!! uzzled:

Puritanboard members: please give it a try. I'm curious to see what we'll come up with.

(We're looking for a definition, not examples, etc)

 

[BobVigneault]

Kristine, thank God for sentiment and emotion but I believe we confuse our definition of Biblical love by trying to bring sentiment and emotion into it. Love is simply the preference of one for another. God's love is a choosing love (preference) in fact election is a good equivalent for the word love. God's love is uncoditional and unchanging and therefore what it is in eternity it must remain in time, hence, election.

When we choose a spouse we are choosing, electing and prefering one over all others. When we love a brother or sister in Christ we are choosing to prefer that person even at the risk of our own self interest.

The one sentence would be - Love is the preference of one for another.
(My two cents)

 

[blhowes]

How about:

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1Jo 4:10)

 

[fredtgreco]

Love is a commitment of self-sacrifice for another.

 

[cupotea]

From his book "Desiring God" ( :thumbup: ), John Piper defines love this way: "Love is the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others." :book:

 

[JWJ]

Most often people describe the effects of love but not love (e.g. 1 Cor 13). Maxdetail is right too in that many often define love with mere emotion (not that love is necessary devoid of emotion for man). Col. 3:14 defines love as the bond of perfection. Some like to define love as a covenant bond.

 

[Scott Bushey]

John 15:13

And here is how to measure it--the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends.
New Living Translation (c) 1996 Tyndale Charitable Trust