What is Love?

[URAVIP2ME]

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13​

And then Jesus stood in the way, in between them and God's wrath. Offering Himself up as the ultimate solution for all mankind.

“This is my commandment,
that you love one another as I have loved you. - Jesus​

In Scripture I find that father Abraham was called as being God's friend.
Abraham put his God above any human.
Whereas Adam chose to No longer be God's friend, God's loving son.

Yes, Jesus died for all ( everyone ) - 1 John 1:7
However, Not everyone will end up accepting Jesus.
This is why Matthew 20:28 says that Jesus' ransom covers MANY and does Not say all.
The wicked have an adverse judgement of being destroyed forever - Psalms 92:7; Psalms 104:35
The choice we all have is to ' repent ' if one does Not want to ' perish' ( meaning: be destroyed ) - 2 Peter 3:9
​

 

[Psalm23]

I suggest trying some focused imagination.

Thinking about the abstract concept of love can be self changing. If you think about love without form or requirement or limitations and really focus (perhaps with eyes closed) for a period of time, you can admire it, can joy in it. Focus on how good it is conceptually. Forget yourself and all things. If you drive all other thoughts away and just think about that for a period of time you may experience something you'll never forget. Doing this dedicated imagining of something which you can't see but which has all kinds of good attributes can be an interesting experience. Maybe there is a biochemical brain effect or maybe you encounter the supernatural, but when you succeed you won't be able to tell. You may experience precognition or other strange effects. You may also have some stray thoughts which may seem to speak to you, but take those with a grain of salt. Process later if you hear anything as it could just be a brain fart. Just try to remember everything. You will probably need a very quiet location, very safe with a cool even temperature. That will help.

Have you done this? If so, what was your experience?

 

[URAVIP2ME]

The reason I said Adam throw Eve under the bus is because when God asks him what he had done, Adam blamed Eve instead of taking responsibility for his own actions. Though as to the reason Adam ate the fruit is in my opinion only conjecture.

Thank you for your reply.
I also find at Genesis 3:12 that Adam blames: God.
' The woman YOU (God) gave me..... '

Yes, there are different opinions as to why Adam ate, but Adam already knew God's Law carried with it the death penalty - Genesis 2:17.
One person (his opinion) told me Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was fashioned after the Adam and Eve account.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Have you done this? If so, what was your experience?

One time, long ago. I was a Charismatic, then. We had a 24 hour prayer chapel, and I took a turn staying awake to let people through the door. It was around 1 am. I was lying facedown, and began to think this way. I entered a state of mind that was like hearing the ocean, being in a river, very still at the same time. I heard things, some of which never made sense. I'm not sure what happened, but I received a precognitive hint that I would be changing jobs. I thought this was odd and unbelievable, so next morning I told my mom (I was teenager) that I thought I'd be getting a new job. Next day some man wanders up to me while I'm working and offers me another job working for him. I would normally not have considered it, so this event in this chapel changed my choice. That man was very religious and challenged me in many ways, thus changing my path. All of it began with this meditation.

I never tried to do this again. I think it was a little too weird for me, and then my life changed. I wasn't sure that this experience was what I thought. Things changed. I guess now that it was a good experience, but I can't say for sure that it was supernatural. It seems like it, though. It seems like I somehow got connected to some other thought process or something. Maybe there were other people doing the same thing? I don't know.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Have you done this? If so, what was your experience?

This is my second reply. It occurs to me that I have since learned of a related but different practice Buddhists use called "Lovingkindness meditation." I have watched a video online about it. They do something different, and it is a practice of awareness and is guided step by step and it begins with improving love of your yourself then expands this to loving others everywhere. This is not supernatural and doesn't promise any supernatural experiences and is a mental exercise aimed at improving your ability to love and to trust generally. Its is strictly training yourself how to feel, and it works for a lot of people. I should have mentioned it, before.

Videos on this are easy to find, but the idea is you start with feeling loved and love for yourself and from there you expand the feeling and outwards towards loving all other people. It helps with trust, too. This may help you more than my shot-in-the dark method. Its been done by many people and can't hurt to try. If you love people more than surely you will love God more as a result? Best of luck!

 

[Dave Watchman]

I never have thought about that option that Adam ate the fruit to stand by Eve. Still it seems to me he threw her under the bus pretty quickly ( see Genesis 3:8-12.

You might be right, there is a lot of conjecture going on. I would have thrown her under the bus too. Talk is cheap. But it's a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

I still think my note is in the right direction. I remain the romantic. It was the ultimate love story. I bet we'll find out one day soon.

I think when they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden, they were hiding from the pre incarnate Jesus. No man can come to the Father except through Him.

And I also think Adam was 40 years old when he married Eve, she was much younger. She may have been smart, but was lacking in experience. She was no match for the serpent.

What would have happened if Adam left her alone? What if he said sorry for your bad luck Eve, I'm going to go stand over there and have a smoke and watch how this all goes down.

What would that have looked like to God?

Would He have been disappointed in making the man?

Where would we be now?

I can't see Adam leaving her there crying and scared.

I bet he loved that girl like he loved himself, maybe more.

It makes me all glassy eyed.

 

[Dave Watchman]

Yes, Jesus died for all ( everyone ) - 1 John 1:7
However, Not everyone will end up accepting Jesus.
This is why Matthew 20:28 says that Jesus' ransom covers MANY and does Not say all.
The wicked have an adverse judgement of being destroyed forever - Psalms 92:7; Psalms 104:35
The choice we all have is to ' repent ' if one does Not want to ' perish' ( meaning: be destroyed ) - 2 Peter 3:9

I agree with you on this one.

I thought of it as soon as I wrote: "Offering Himself up as the ultimate solution for all mankind.

Not "all" are going to make it.

The gate is narrow.

And man became a living soul, living nephesh (נֶ֫פֶשׁ‎ nép̄eš).

The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Dreadful sorry Clementine.

 

[Twilight Hue]

What does love mean to you? How have you seen love in your life?

I tend to associate love with sustained happiness.

 

[Valjean]

I tend to associate love with sustained happiness.

So love's like a slow release happy pill, or a cocaine drip?

 

[Twilight Hue]

So love's like a slow release happy pill, or a cocaine drip?

It could be depending upon who you are.

 

[rrobs]

What does love mean to you? How have you seen love in your life?

God's evidence of love is in giving.

John 3:16,

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
​

Love is not what another person does for me, but what I can do for the other person. It in fact is irrelevant what the other person does for me. They can treat me as bad as the want, but if I love them, I'll still give to them. As such, grace and mercy are a big part of love.

 

[74x12]

What does love mean to you? How have you seen love in your life?

Love is when you would die for someone and then if they leave you; you want to die for a whole other reason.

But there are 3 types of love.

1. Eros
2. Philia
3. Agape

 

[Martin]

What does love mean to you? How have you seen love in your life?

Caring about how somebody is feeling.

 

[Hellbound Serpiente]

What does love mean to you?

Temporary neurosis.

How have you seen love in your life?

No. Pain and suffering is all I have seen

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Love is when you would die for someone and then if they leave you; you want to die for a whole other reason.
But there are 3 types of love.
1. Eros
2. Philia
3. Agape

I'd like to add a 4th type:
4. Storge ( family love )

 

[URAVIP2ME]

I tend to associate love with sustained happiness.

Well, I find we can be sustained with joy by feeling secure in God's love - Galatians 5:22-23
Living honestly and honorably before God to be spiritually secure.
I find love is Not about personal happiness, or being emotionally secure, but rather costly, sacrificial.
Love's motive is always having the other persons best interest at heart.

 

[URAVIP2ME]

Temporary neurosis. No. Pain and suffering is all I have seen

So sorry for all the pain and suffering you've seen.
Hold on because pain ends:

H old
O n
P ain
E nds

We have the HOPE as found at Revelation 7:17 B that the God of the Bible will wipe away all tears ( pain ).
The former things of this wicked system will come to an end - Revelation 21:4-5.
This is why we are all invited to pray the invitation of Rev. 22:20 for Jesus to come !
Come and undo all the damage sinners Satan and Adam brought upon us.
Come and bring ' healing ' to earth's nations as promised at Revelation 22:2
Since all the rest of Scripture is being fulfilled there is No reason to doubt the rest will also come to reality.
- Numbers 6:24-26 for you.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

What does love mean to you? How have you seen love in your life?

Do you know, when I was in junior high school, and went to a speech tournament, my category was improvisation, and the topic I was given was love. I won first place, so I guess people resonated to my ideas.

At the core of my speech was that the word love is used for a great many different things. Love of family, love of a pizza, love of life, love of he world, romantic love... the metaphor I used was that of a multifaceted diamond.

So basically you cannot answer the question of what love is without asking, which love are you talking about?

Now I'm 59, and the only really important thing I want to add is this: in all loves, you choose to put the other person above your own interests. Anything less than that is really liking, not loving.

And I think it should go without saying that the "feelings of love" that we get are fickle, but we can still love when we do not feel loving. I can be in a rotten mood and wish the kids would be quiet, and that I was far away on a tropical island beach with a drink.... and still choose to cook them dinner, round them up to wash their hands, and make sure we have a civilized and pleasant meal. THAT is love. What you DO.

 

[Valjean]

God's evidence of love is in giving.

John 3:16,

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
​

Love is not what another person does for me, but what I can do for the other person. It in fact is irrelevant what the other person does for me. They can treat me as bad as the want, but if I love them, I'll still give to them. As such, grace and mercy are a big part of love.

Since when is scripture evidence?
There is conflicting spiritual script from a hundred different religions. They don't test it, it's just poetic speculation, hence the diversity.

 

[rrobs]

Since when is scripture evidence?
There is conflicting spiritual script from a hundred different religions. They don't test it, it's just poetic speculation, hence the diversity.

What's the evidence for that? What was your testing method?