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What is True Love?
Yes, it’s that time of year again - the holiday season; and that can only mean one thing - Hallmark movies! Even though it seems the story lines are eerily similar, Google told me there are 136 different holiday movie plots with tragedy, crisis or heartbreak (sometimes all three); then the main character finds “true love” and lives happily ever after. Does true love only happen in the movies or during holidays? The world has certain standards and definitions of love, but man’s thinking is often flawed. What does God’s word have to say about true love?
True love is Genuine - The apostle Paul tells the Roman brethren in chapter 12:9 to “Let love be genuine.” Having the quality of being genuine means authentic and real, not hypocritical - what is inside the book, not just the cover. In 1 Timothy 1:5 Paul told Timothy his goal was to preach the gospel in love from a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith. That means true love is more than just saying mere words. We cannot have one standard for others but then behave like it does not apply to us. Others will see right through that behavior and we will not be effective at showing love for our brethren or to those that need the gospel. Of course, God sees immediately if our heart is pure and sincere, whether others can tell if we are genuine or not.
True love is Selfless - Jesus remarked to His apostles in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus is the great example of thinking about others and doing for others first. He never had a “Me first!” attitude. He taught us that in order to be exalted in God’s eyes, we must first be humble (Matthew 20:26-28). The apostle Peter wrote in I Peter 2:17, “Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” Paul describes the incredible humility of Jesus in Philippians 2:3-10, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” True love requires that we emulate the selfless love of Jesus.
True love is Saving - No, this does not mean putting coins in a piggy bank. If we put on the true love of Christ, we will love ourselves enough to do what is right and to also be interested in saving others. Many religious leaders today stop too early in the Gospel of John. Jesus stated in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life,” a most beautiful passage regarding God’s love for us. But just a few chapters later in John’s gospel (14:15) Jesus also told his followers, “if you love Me you will keep my commandments.” So, Jesus expands on the definition of love to let us know that true love actually has responsibilities; to ourselves and others. Ephesians 5:28 teaches us that husbands must love their wives as their own bodies. Proverbs 13:24 tells us that we do not show love to our children by ignoring the need for discipline. In Galatians 6:1 we are told to restore the wayward sinner in a spirit of gentleness. True love is exhibited by appropriate action in every part of our lives, including efforts at saving others.
In 1 Peter 4:8 we are told to “love one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” Peter is not saying that love overlooks sin, but rather, as James explains in Chapter 5:20, “let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” This is just another gospel reference to reproof or correction being made in love. This is such a difficult concept for many outside of Christ to understand, but we must be willing to love others enough to encourage them, or even offer gentle correction to get them on the straight way to eternal life.
While feelings are definitely important in true love (it would be difficult to have any love without emotion), God’s word teaches that the hallmark of true love is much deeper than that. It must be genuine, pure and sincere, a love that is willing to serve others in humility, and to gently correct and instruct in the way of righteousness, in order to save ourselves and others. May we all work diligently to put on this true love as we continue to study God’s word and apply it in our lives.
