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It is truly a joy for me that you have allowed me to share my thoughts with you. Everything reminds me of something. I am reminded of a song, a movie, a moment in time, a scripture. And sometimes, I just gotta say something about it. Like now...
I was going through my news feed on Facebook when I noticed a post from one of my friends who posted this question on their page:Vulnerable
question here (there isn't a hidden meaning nor a weird motive) but
what does love look like to you? Typically, I hear people say "A
man on a cross" which is only a right answer if you are Jesus.
I'm thinking my love language I express in and receive in might be
out of sync. (Taking some personal inventory here.) To stir up my
imagination I'm asking you to give me ideas from your life. So how do
you show love and receive love? Thanks in advance!
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Ok, I'll bite. Let's talk about love. After all, who doesn't want love in their life? I reckon there's no greater feeling than to be loved. And truly, the greatest act of love was expressed by Jehovah God who sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. That is such a deep expression of love. And to that end, the memorial of Christ is fast approaching. This year, the anniversary of Jesus’ death falls on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Jehovah’s Witnesses invite you to meet with them on that date to observe the Memorial that Jesus instituted. You will hear an explanation of how his death can benefit you and your family.
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Remember Jesus’ Death (video 1:42)
So, I looked up the meaning of the word love, because, let's face it, some people don't know how to describe love.
LOVE
A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a friend, for a parent or child, and so forth; warm fondness or liking for another; also, the benevolent affection of God for his creatures or the reverent affection due from them to God; also, the kindly affection properly expressed by God’s creatures toward one another; that strong or passionate affection for a person of the opposite sex that constitutes the emotional incentive to conjugal union. One of the synonyms for love is “devotion.”
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There are 4 main types love listed in the Bible. The Christian Greek Scriptures mainly employ forms of the words a·gaʹpe, phi·liʹa, and two words drawn from stor·geʹ (eʹros, love between the sexes, not being used). A·gaʹpe appears more frequently than the other terms.
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A·gaʹpe carries the meaning of love guided, or governed, by principle. It may or may not include affection and fondness. That a·gaʹpe may include affection and warmth is evident in many passages, such as found at: John 3:35, John 5:20, John 14:21. And as you have noticed, there is a love between the Father and son. This love of the Father and of the Son is accompanied by tender affection for such loving persons. Jehovah’s worshipers must love him and his Son, as well as one another, in the same way.
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So, now that we know a little about the form of love known as a·gaʹpe, if you were to pin me down for an answer, a definition, of love, I draw much comfort from the following Bible passages...
4 Love+ is patient*+ and kind.+ Love is not jealous.+ It does not brag, does not get puffed up,+ 5 does not behave indecently,*+ does not look for its own interests,+ does not become provoked.+ It does not keep account of the injury.*+6 It does not rejoice over unrighteousness,+ but rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things,+ believes all things,+ hopes all things,+ endures all things.+
8 Love never fails.
Simply put, in answer to this question: So how do you show love and receive love? I try to show love the way it is mentioned there in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. It is how I try to show love, and it is how I want to receive love.
How Godly Love Acts. Love, such as God is, is so wonderful that it is hard to define. It is easier to tell how it acts. In the following discussion of this fine quality, its application to Christians will be considered. The apostle Paul, in writing on the subject, first emphasizes how essential it is for a Christian believer and then details how it acts unselfishly in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Stay tuned as we delve deeper into the subject of love...
To be continued:
Well, how about you? How do you show love? How do you receive love?
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2 comments:
I didn't know what love is until I ended up homeless and living under a bridge after moving to a different city.
While living under that bridge, I had a chance to reflect on my past life of adultery, drug abuse and family neglect. There, I prayed for protection. Then, the thought hit me: How would I believe our Heavenly Father even hear the prayer of a person such as I? So, I prayed for help with my faith He would hear my prayer.
I began to realize my dicipline for the way I had been living was to sit under that bridge and get to know our Father. I could have been diciplined in a much harsher way, but He diciplined me according to my individual needs. I reasoned that is real love.
Then I reasoned He sent His Son to die as a ransom for people like me. I reasoned that I needed that the most. I hadn't committed the unforgivable sin. I had never blasphemed The Holy Spirit.
Then I reasoned that is real love. That helped me to understand I want to be forgiving as I was forgiven and loved unconditionally by the only One Who really mattered, by Father.
Thank you for sharing this part of your life. I can't imagine being homeless and living under a bridge. Wow!
That Ransom you spoke about is indeed important to us. I am forever grateful for that provided provision.
When I was growing up, I had a very hard time reconciling the 'God of Love' with all the bad things that were happening in the world, people suffering, and my dad, a Pentecostal preacher, teaching of hell-fire. It just didn't sit well with me. Hell-fire didn't seem to me to be from a 'God of Love.' Because of that teaching, I hated God and turned my back on him.
In 1996, I started a study of the Bible with a couple who were Jehovah's Witnesses, and it didn't take long to find the 'God of love I was looking for.' I found him at James 1:13. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/bible/nwt/books/james/1/#v59001013
That scripture helped me to see that God is not the cause of our pain and suffering. What a relief that was for me.
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