Topic: Love

I- Definition

I.i Worldview:

1. Chemistry—chemical/feeling that is not controllable.

From the scientific point of view, love is a powerful and permanent neurological condition. Love
is chemistry and it’s not something you can necessarily control. Take, for example, the difference
between lust and love. Lust is a temporary desire fueled by an increased release of testosterone
and oestrogen–it lasts for a little bit, then you normalize and it’s gone. But, when you feel true
love, the brain can release a whole set of chemicals, allowing you to experience it in different
expressions.
2. Commitment--constant work to nurture/develop/ can be nurture/ develop
Love is so hard to define because it doesn’t exist as one thing. We can feel love for our
significant others, our parents, friends, children and pets. Some of us direct our love toward God,
or celebrities, and we can hold love for our neighbors, country and objects. Love can be blind,
misguided, tragic, unconditional, steadfast and inconsistent. It takes on many different variants,
yet, at its best, love is a passionate commitment that we constantly work to develop and nurture.

3. Infatuation—When you are not commitmented. gugmang mawala ra( e.g crust nako
siya….then mawala na dayun)
When you take away the aspect of commitment, love is infatuation. When you’re no longer
passionate about someone, you’re simply dedicated to him or her. Love that is infatuation is not
really good love because, well, we often let our obsession become the root of the relationship,
which might mean you’re focusing more on the idea of being in love, or the idea of the
relationship, than the actual relationship itself.

4. Compatibility—magkauyun—pariha ug gusto/ the same values, likes and dislikes, interests,

political or philosophical views
Lastly, when all is said and done, love is also about compatibility. When you break down and
analyze different relationships, one of the key factors is how compatible two partners are. When
you share the same values, likes and dislikes, interests, political or philosophical views with
someone you are much more likely to be compatible and thus, are more likely to fall in love.
Sure, there can always be situations where "opposites attract" but there will always need to be
some common grounds for the relationship to grow roots on, or it might fall into one of the other
categories of love. Love and compatibility work together to build a relationship, so at the end of
the day, you want to find someone you know you know you are going to be compatible with,
right
I.ii Biblical view
Question: "What is love? What is the definition of love?"

Answer: Love can be a challenge to define at the level of how a person experiences it. Love
can involve personal affection, sexual attraction, platonic admiration, brotherly loyalty,
benevolent concern, or worshipful adoration. To accurately answer the question “what is
love?” we need to go to the origin of love. The Bible tells us that love originates in God.

In the English language, the word love is forced to bear the burden of a multitude of
meanings. We “love” everything from pancakes to parents, but in vastly different ways.
The languages in which the Bible was written, Hebrew and Greek, are more precise in that
they utilize different words for the different types of love. The ancient languages
differentiate among sexual, brotherly, and familial love, and also the kind of love that God
has for creation and that we may have for Him.

The Hebrew word yada and the Greek word eros are the words used to indicate sexual love.
In Genesis 38 Judah makes love with a woman he assumes is a prostitute. In the original
Hebrew of verse 26, the word is yada, meaning “to know” and in this context “to know
carnally” or “to have sexual intercourse with.” In the New Testament, the Greek
word eros is not found because there is no context in which it might be used.

The second type of love is the brotherly love that exists between close friends regardless of
gender. There is no sexual connotation; it is the love for and by a friend. The Hebrew word
is ahabah, and it is used to describe the love between David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel
20:17. The Greek word for brotherly love or affection is phileo, as used to refer to
friendship in John 15:19, Romans 12:10, and Hebrews 13:1.

Of family or tribal love, the Hebrew word is once again ahabah, indicating a deep affection,
and the Greek word is storge. We find ahabah throughout the Old Testament because of its
broad range of meanings, but the Greek word storge is only found in the New Testament as
a part of a compound word (e.g., it’s combined with phileo in 2 Timothy 3:3).

Finally, there is the Hebrew word chesed and the Greek word agape, which are used to
express the kind of love God demonstrates toward His elect. Chesed is often translated as
“steadfast love” or “lovingkindness.” A good example of chesed is found in Numbers 14:18,
“The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and
transgression” (Numbers 14:18, ESV). God’s chesed love is why He never gives up on those
He has adopted as His children. Throughout the Old Testament, God’s people repeatedly
fell into idolatry and sin, yet He always preserved a remnant; He never gives up on His
people. The reason is His chesed love.
A similar idea is found in the New Testament with the Greek word agape. Agape love is the
goodwill and benevolence of God shown in self-sacrifice and an unconditional commitment
to loved one. Agape is similar to chesed in that it is steadfast, regardless of
circumstances. Agape love is the kind of love we are to have for God in fulfillment of
the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37). Jesus wants to instill agape in His followers as
we serve others through the power of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 22:39; John 13:34).

In the most basic sense, love is the emotion felt and actions performed by someone
concerned for the well-being of another person. Love involves affection, compassion, care,
and self-sacrifice. Love originates in the Triune Godhead, within the eternal relationship
that exists among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (1 John 4:7–8). Loving is unique to the
human experience of being an image-bearer of God. A pet owner may love her dog; she is
concerned for its well-being and cares for it. On the other hand, her dog doesn’t truly love
her. Oh, it wags its tail, sits by her, and comes when she calls, but all of those responses
are based on the fact that she feeds it and keeps it warm. Animals cannot love in the same
way that humans, created in God’s image, can love.

Here is the bottom line on love: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his
one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear
friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.… We love because he
first loved us” (1 John 4:9–11, 19).
Recommended Resource: The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God by D.A. Carson

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