Love

What do you think when you hear the word love? Does a particular movie scene come to mind? Do you think about sex? What about your feelings for that special someone? Is that love?

But what does it really mean when someone says, "I love you?" What does that actually mean?

"Hear, O Israel. The Lord is our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength." - Deuteronomy 6:4-5

When God says that, what does He mean?

Here's the thing. Love cannot be a feeling or an emotion, because let's face reality: You cannot be infatuated with someone forever. Nor is it possible to serve God cheerfully all of the time. So then, what is love? When the Bible says that God is love, what does that mean?

Simple. It means that to love is to be like God. In other words, love is a commitment of self-sacrifice to other people. It means to lay down your life, your passions, and your beliefs to serve people like God serves us.

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." - John 15:13
We see God's love all throughout the Bible. When God banished Adam and Eve from Eden, He gave them clothes to cover their shame. When God destroyed the world with a flood, He gave us a rainbow as a sign of his love. The ultimate example is, of course, Jesus Christ, who died for our own sins.

So, when God put himself on the cross, He showed that he was willing to sacrifice even Himself for us, because He wanted to spend eternity in heaven with us.

So when you next say, "I love you," what are you saying?

You're saying that you're going to be like God, that you are going to be committed to self-sacrifice for other people.