{"id":2482,"date":"2012-02-14T17:03:33","date_gmt":"2012-02-14T21:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dcdistrictdiva.com\/?p=2482"},"modified":"2012-02-14T17:03:33","modified_gmt":"2012-02-14T21:03:33","slug":"what-love-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/what-love-is\/","title":{"rendered":"What Love Is"},"content":{"rendered":"

“If I speak in the tongues\u00a0<\/span>of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” — \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 1 Corinthians 13:1-2<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Particularly on Valentine’s Day, people are longing for love. Or, they think<\/em>\u00a0it’s love they’re longing for. \u00a0If we were being honest with ourselves, however, we’d say we’re longing for: someone to call us regularly, someone who cares about us, someone who opens our doors and pulls out our chairs, someone to cuddle and kiss us, someone to make us feel safe and valued and special. \u00a0Those are not bad things, by any stretch of the imagination. \u00a0Those things are also not love<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Few people really understand that love transcends romance, butterflies, physical attractions and chemical connections. \u00a0Even fewer people understand that love is not a feeling at all, it is an action<\/em>. A deed. \u00a0It is selfless labor. \u00a0Love is giving to another without expectation of reciprocity for the sole purpose of seeking the other’s highest good and bringing glory to God. \u00a0That means we show love and act in another’s best interest irrespective<\/em>\u00a0of how that person treats us, whether they reciprocate and whether they deserve it. \u00a0Real love<\/em>, my friends, is a jagged little pill. Sometimes, it is hard to swallow. \u00a0Always, it is worth it. \u00a0This is demonstrated in the Bible by Jesus’ conversation with Simon Peter in John 21:15-18:<\/p>\n

15<\/sup>\u00a0When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,\u00a0\u201cSimon son of John, do you love me more than these?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYes, Lord,\u201d he said, \u201cyou know that I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus said,\u00a0\u201cFeed my lambs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0Again Jesus said,\u00a0\u201cSimon son of John, do you love me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He answered, \u201cYes, Lord, you know that I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus said,\u00a0\u201cTake care of my sheep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0The third time he said to him,\u00a0\u201cSimon son of John, do you love me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time,\u00a0\u201cDo you love me?\u201d\u00a0He said, \u201cLord, you know all things; you know that I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus said,\u00a0\u201cFeed my sheep.\u00a018<\/sup>\u00a0Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.\u201d\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes, we get like Peter, frustrated when our love for Christ is questioned. \u00a0Surely<\/em>\u00a0He knows how much I love Him! But love is deeper than words, there are actions that must be done to convey that love, and that is the message that Christ is trying to get across to Peter. \u00a0When you’re a new Christian (or “younger,” as Christ says to Peter), it’s all about you and how you feel and what you want. But when you become mature in Christ and are really committed to living out a Christian life, you understand that you show your love for Christ through sacrificing for others. You “stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” \u00a0Though Christ was indicating “the kind of [physical] death by which Peter would glorify God,” He was also illustrating for us that we must die to our own desires for the sake of others in order to glorify God.<\/p>\n

This is explained in 1 John 3:16-18. And in case anyone is unsure about what God says that real love is, He couldn’t spell it out any clearer:<\/p>\n

16<\/sup>\u00a0This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters<\/strong>.\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?\u00a018<\/sup>\u00a0Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

and John 14:15: “If you love Me<\/strong>, you will keep My commandments.”<\/p>\n

It’s just that simple. \u00a0Well, the instructions are simple, having the courage and divorcing your pride to follow the instructions? That’s the tough part. \u00a0Thankfully, we “can endure all things through Christ.<\/a>”<\/p>\n

Don’t take this to mean that Christ has no desire for us to experience romantic love. That’s just not true. \u00a0Read the Song of Solomon; it is full of love songs like this<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0He<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a015<\/sup>\u00a0How beautiful you are, my darling!
\nOh, how beautiful!
\nYour eyes are doves.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0She<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0How handsome you are, my beloved!
\nOh, how charming!
\nAnd our bed is verdant.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0The beams of our house are cedars;
\nour rafters are firs.<\/p>\n

God wants us to have beautiful and fulfilling love lives within the bonds of marriage! He desires us to have these things, not just because they bring us joy, but most of all, because accepting the challenge of “til death do us part” — and parenthood, as well — is the ultimate opportunity for you to show the love of Christ to specific people on a daily basis. (Read more on this here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

We’ve all heard that Love is<\/a> “patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.\u00a0It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.\u00a0\u00a0Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.\u00a0It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.\u00a0Love never fails.”<\/p>\n

It’s one thing to know it, and quite another to live it.<\/p>\n

What is Love to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“If I speak in the tongues\u00a0of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.\u00a02\u00a0If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,20],"tags":[323,526,703,994,1025],"class_list":["post-2482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-6-months-no-dating","category-6-months","tag-faith","tag-kind","tag-patient","tag-valentines-day","tag-what-love-is"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2012\/02\/Love-Never-Fails.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7nB6F-E2","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brookeobie.com\/districtdiva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}