The Love of God: The Definition of Love

How we define love is important. We can have a type of love that seeks the best for us or for others, is fond of others, ourselves, or things, relates to our family, or is sexual in nature. However, the concept of love can often be mixed up with feelings that seek fleshly gratification rather than concern for others, especially eros (erotic) – this is not love, rather these feelings come from depraved and dishonoring passions. Within Scripture the types of love we find are either friendship or sacrificial. It is important to understand the difference between these and how they are applied. Friendship has a warmness to it, where a sacrificial love can feel cold yet always has the best interest of the one loved in mind. An improper use of both of these types of love leads us into trouble. Fondness with the world is enmity with God and those who seek what is best for their own, use these types of loves for their own benefit, not for others. God’s quality of love always seeks the best for the one loved. We know His love because He first loved us; therefore, to understand true love we must look to God and how He defines it.