These were some of the responses I got when I asked this question. Love is so many things. We all have our own perception of love based on our past, how we have grown up, and so many other things. A lot of us have a wrong view of love because of our parents, exes, or friends. I’ve been learning a lot recently what love really is.

I realized a couple months ago I didn’t know how to receive love. I never really had anyone love me unconditionally. So, I thought I had to earn people’s love. Then, my boyfriend Ethan came and started showing me this unconditional love. It was overwhelming. It stressed me out. I kept trying to test him to see if I could do something to make him mad or leave. Then, God revealed to me that Jesus’s love is even better than that. God’s love is perfect. It never fails. It is unconditional. If I couldn’t receive Ethan’s love, how am I supposed to receive God’s love? Because Ethan’s love isn’t even 1/10 of Jesus’s love. Huge mind shift. I prayed to God for help. I read some books, read the Bible, and spent time with God. He revealed some deeper things about patterns in the way I think and why I think that. He also showed me how I've been conditional with my love towards others. It’s easy to love my friends when I can pick and choose when I want to be around them, and I mostly see them when they are at their best and are fun. It’s harder to love someone who hurts you, isn’t fun, and doesn’t really offer you anything. But that’s the whole point of love, it’s not supposed to be easy.

So What is Love Then?

Love is a choice. It’s not infatuation or obsession. It’s not just a feeling that comes and goes. Love is constant. It is sacrifice. It is patient, kind, humble. It never fails. It’s slow to anger. It’s putting someone else’s needs or wants before your own. It’s serving them. It’s compromise. It’s forgiving always. Think of Jesus, He was a servant, lowest of lows. He showed his love for us by dying for us. He got brutally beaten and crucified for us. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love your enemies. If I do not love people who hurt me or have done me wrong, I am a hypocrite. God will hold me to the same standard I hold others to. Think of how many times I’ve disobeyed God or done things that grieve Him. Yet, he’s forgiven me and loved me every single time. How could I not show others the same amount of grace?

God’s Love

God’s love is everything I’ve already talked about. He’s always there no matter how many times I’ve turned away from Him or run from Him. He loves me just as much when I come back. He is my strength. He loves me no matter how many mistakes I’ve made. And, He’s patient with me through them. Think of how patient He is with you through your whole life. All the times you’ve messed up and repented. Or, how long it takes you to learn certain things he’s trying to teach you. But he walks with you slowly. For me, He’s the person I go to when my life sucks. He always listens to me. He doesn't just fix it, but he gives me strength to endure it and grow from it. He gives me crazy joy, even when life sometimes does suck. He is my hope. He also is my best friend. The biggest thing that shows his love (or the thing that blows my mind the most) is that we can never repay Him. All we have to do is believe in Him. He knows there isn’t anything we could do to repay Him for the love He shows us. There is nothing we could give Him that he doesn’t already have. We literally have nothing to offer Him besides ourselves. Yet, He still chooses to love us and die for us. That’s insane.

Something that I’ve also been thinking of, is there’s so many different types of love. Love for God, love for a friend, love for a parent, love for a spouse or partner, love for a place or thing. That’s what makes it even crazier. For instance, in English we only have one word for it, “love.” “I love pizza.” “I love God.” But they are very different. However, in the Greek or Hebrew there are so many different types of words for different types of love. So, I think the word has lost some of its meaning to a lot of people today, or, they say it without meaning it. It has caused a lot of people to not believe it when they are told it. Others associate it with things like sex, someone being conditionally nice to you, someone saying it but their actions don’t back it up, or a temporary attraction or high emotion of infatuation. But love is someone that will lay down their life for you.

Anyway, that’s it lol. Okay bye

-PJ