what is love?

[Webers.Home]

.
● 1Pet 3:8a . . Finally, all of you be of one mind,

I seriously doubt Peter’s talking about the nerve center of a Borg-hive
collective. The Greek word for "one mind" is homophron (hom-of'-rone)
which means: harmonious; and this is the only place in the entire New
Testament where that word appears.

Webster’s defines "harmonious" as: 1) musically concordant, 2) having the
parts agreeably related; viz: congruous, and 3) marked by accord in
sentiment or action.

Peter's instructions emphasize the third element: "marked by accord in
sentiment or action". Head-strong Christians, domineering Christians, those
for whom every disagreement is either an affront or an act of war to win at
any cost-- those for whom the word diplomacy has no meaning --of course
have trouble complying with 1Pet 3:8a; that is: if they even consider it
worthy of their notice.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 1Pet 3:8b-9 . . Have compassion one of another, love as brethren, be
pitiful, be courteous; not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but
contrariwise blessing.

"compassion" is from the Greek word sumpathes (soom-path-ace') which
means: having a fellow-feeling; viz: sympathetic, i.e. (by implication)
mutually commiserative: empathetic.

One of the meanings of commiserate is condole: like when we share
someone's grief at the passing of a loved one, or their job has been
outsourced to cheap labor in a foreign country, or they've lost their entire
retirement fund to an unscrupulous corporation like ENRON, or their life
savings to a crooked Ponzi schemer like Bernie Madoff, or when there's news
from their doctor they have to begin chemo-therapy for a recently detected
advanced cancer, or when the car of a single mom with limited income
needs expensive repairs.

People in those predicaments are in sore need of condolences, and they are
in no mood for philosophical platitudes.

The Greek word for "railing" is loidoria (loy-dor-ee'-ah) which means slander
or vituperation; which Webster's defines as 1) to abuse or censure severely
or abusively; viz: berate, and 2) to use harsh condemnatory language.

Rejoinders fall into that category; which are defined as a usually rude or
angry reply to something written or said; viz: insensitive come-backs
deliberately meant to hurt people's feelings; viz: tit for tat. That kind of
behavior doesn't go unnoticed.

"I say to you, that every careless word that men shall speak, they shall
render account for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be
justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." (Matt 12:36-37)
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 1Pet 3:10-11 . . Let him who means to love life and see good days refrain
his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away
from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.

Webster's defines "guile" as duplicity which is defined as: contradictory
doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially in the belying of one's
true intentions by deceptive words or action; in other words, speaking with a
forked tongue and/or saying one thing while meaning another.

Quite a bit is said in the Bible about the words people speak, whereas little
to nothing is said about the words they write. That could be because so
many people back in the day were illiterate. But surely one's written words
have just as much voice as one's spoken words.

Good and evil are here juxtaposed as benevolence vs malevolence, i.e. good
will vs ill will.

To "seek peace and pursue it" is blessing-worthy.

● Matt 5:9 . . Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.

If it's true that only peaceable kinds of people qualify to wear the label
"children of God" then the opposite is just as true: difficult Christians are
unworthy of the distinction.
_

 

[Magenta]

● Matt 5:9 . . Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.

If it's true that only peaceable kinds of people qualify to wear the label
"children of God" then the opposite is just as true: difficult Christians are
unworthy of the distinction.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, even to those who believe in His name, John 1:12

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26

"And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons
and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. Romans 8:14

Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Galatians 4:7

 

[morefaithrequired]

Love is often absent from this message board. I take some responsibility for that.

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 1Pet 4:8 . . Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because
love hides a large number of sins.

A person easily provoked is not a loving person.

One Saturday morning I and another man at church were moving some
furniture from one place to another inside the main building where,
completely unknown to us, a wedding rehearsal was being conducted.

The woman in charge of organizing the wedding came out into the hall and
began scolding us for talking and making noise. When I pointed out that
there were no posted signs in the hallway indicating a function in progress
on the other side of the door, she became sullen, and tightened her lips and
narrowed her eyes in anger.

Had that lady exemplified the love about which Peter wrote, she would have
handled her inconvenience with a little more tact and sensitivity, i.e.
diplomacy.

● Matt 5:9 . . Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be known as
God's kin.

BTW: That same lady was also in the choir, and sang doxologies in front of
about 2,000 people every Sunday morning. She was good at musical
harmony, but obviously in sore need of some training in the civil kind.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 1Pet 5:5b . . and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one
another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

The Greek word for "humble" is tapeinophrosune (tap-i-nof-ros-oo'-nay)
which means lowliness of mind; viz: modesty, which Webster's defines as
freedom from conceit or vanity. Lowliness of mind is to be greatly desired for
its blessing.

● Matt 5:3 . . Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.

Humility is very rare on internet forums. Active members are typically easily
insulted and infected with vanity; plus imperious, domineering, despotic,
assertive, confrontational, arrogant, conceited, reactive, thin-skinned, self
righteous, emotional, critical, and defensive. Those are not what I would call
good Christian attributes. They also have a propensity to jump to
conclusions, get the wrong impression, and fly off the handle. Those aren't
good Christian attributes either; in point of fact; none of those attributes are
blessing-worthy.

"Grace" is one of those ambiguous abstract nouns that nobody seems to
agree upon. Noah found grace in God's eyes (Gen 6:8) which in his case,
regarded providence; which can be defined as kindly patronage. It was by
God's providence that Noah and his family survived the Flood while the sons
of God and their harems didn't. Let that sink in. Just because people label
themselves a Christian, and profess a belief in Christ, is no guarantee they'll
escape the horrors of the book of Revelation. Noah was a righteous man,
and perfect in his generation; too many of today's card-carrying Christians
are neither.

The Greek word for "proud" is huperephanos (hoop-er-ay'-fan-os) which
means appearing above others, viz: haughty. Those kinds of people typically
regard others with contempt, i.e. undeserving of respect or even so much as
common courtesy. Haughty people are typically cruel, thoughtless,
insensitive, and badly infected with a superiority complex, which goes hand
in hand with arrogance: defined as an exaggerated sense of one's
importance, sometimes manifested in an overbearing manner.

Arrogant people can be intolerably pushy and assertive at times; standing up
to them usually always provokes an indignant reaction and a call to arms, so
to speak, because these folk regard any and all disagreements with their
way of thinking as demeaning attacks upon their core values and their
distorted sense of self worth. These people have very little interest in
harmony; they're stand-up fighters whose primary interest is winning and/or
suppressing the opposition.

Seeing as how Heaven is reputed a place of peace, then the arrogant, the
haughty, and the proud cannot be allowed to go there with their unholy
personalities. For sure they'd just end up making things very uncomfortable
for Heaven's normally mild-mannered, affable society.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 2Pet 1:5-7 . . Make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue,
knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,
perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

All those things listed by the apostle Peter are "supplements" defined by
Webster's as things that are added.

If Peter's list is chronological, then it's evident that believers are not
supposed to start with love and work towards faith, rather they're supposed
to start with faith and work towards love, viz: unloving believers are still
believers yes, but they've plenty of room for personal improvement. Their
confidence in Christ's crucifixion as a price he paid to ransom their souls
from the wrath of God is good, but it's only the beginning; a foundation
upon which Peter urges them to accumulate the traits on his list.

The Greek word for "brotherly kindness" is philadelphia (fil-ad-el-fee'-ah)
which means fraternal affection; i.e. fondness. In these days of dysfunctional
homes in the USA, fraternal affection has no point of reference in the
thinking of some people because they've never seen it, nor ever experienced
it. Is it any wonder then that so many homes in America are producing
sociopaths, and kids with Reactive Attachment Disorder?

The word for "love" is agape (ag-ah'-pay) which may or may not contain the
elements of affection and fondness; but always contains the element of
benevolence.

Benevolent people are good folk; they're typically helpful, kind, generous,
cordial, hospitable, courteous, tolerant, sympathetic, loyal, and civil.

Agape was a sorely-missing element in my three years of service in the US
Army from 1961 to 1964. The men disliked each other; and the men disliked
the officers and non-coms; and they in turn disliked the men. Everybody
mistrusted each other and each guy had at the most only a couple of guys in
my whole 200-man unit he could lean on. That lack of agape had an impact
on unit cohesiveness and made America's enemies seem more like friends
than foes.

I really appreciate Charlie Sheen's line towards the end of the Hollywood
movie "Platoon". It goes something like this: "I think now, looking back,
we did not fight the enemy-- we fought ourselves . . . and the enemy was in
us." That line is profound; and an excellent companion to a line in
"Terminator 2, Judgment Day" when Arnold Schwarzenegger commented to
the young John Connor: "It is in your nature to destroy yourselves."
_

 

[NotmebutHim]

"Baby don't hurt me
Baby don't hurt me no more"?

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 2Pet 3:14 . .Be diligent to be found by Him in peace

Christians involved in political activism and civil disobedience really need to
stop what they're doing because those pursuits are not conducive to peace,
rather, they foment conflict.

Some of the brethren haven't a clue what it is to be in peace because their
temperaments won't permit. But that's something they really need to work
on because temperamental behavior isn't permitted in Heaven, and it won't
be permitted in the new cosmos either.

● Ps 37:11 . .The meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves
in the abundance of peace.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 1John 3:11-13 . . For this is the message that you heard from the
beginning, that we should love one another-- not as Cain who was of the
wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because
his works were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be perplexed, my
brethren, if the world hates you.

The Greek word for "love" in that passage, and in 1John 3:11-13, is agapao
(ag-ap-ah'-o) which is an impersonal kind of love. In other words; it's civil
but not necessarily affectionate; which means you don't have to especially
like your fellow Christians, but you can still be nice to them in spite of the
fact that some may thoroughly disgust you and/or rub you the wrong way.

A really good example of agapao is John 3:16 where it's said that God so
loved the world. Well, it tells me that the love God extended to the world via
His son's death is impersonal. It says that God wants what's best for the
world in a generous, charitable way rather than motivated by adoration and
fondness; i.e. there's generally no attachment in that kind of love.

Agapao is the word for love in John 3:16 but it's not the word for love in
John 16:27 which reads like this:

"The Father Himself loves you, because you have loved me, and have
believed that I came forth from the Father."

The love in that passage is phileo (fil-eh'-o) which is an affection that God
feels for His friends . It's a personal love-- tender, sentimental, and close to
home; consisting of things like bonding, fondness and affection. God doesn't
feel phileo for just anybody; only for people close to his heart.

The word for "hates" is miseo (mis-eh'-o) which basically means to detest
and/or to love less. Miseo isn't necessarily a passionate dislike; for example
Matt 6:24 where a choice is made between God or wealth. (cf. Luke 14:26)

From that I think it's safe to take from John that he's not saying the entire
whole world would like nothing better than Christians all lined up and shot,
but that we should not expect the world to think highly of us for our
religion's beliefs and practices; rather, to them Christianity detracts from our
value; i.e. wearing the Christian label makes us less admirable; less of a
person.

But there's people out there like Cain too.

● Ps 37:12 . .The wicked plot against the righteous and grate their teeth at them.

One of the boys involved in the April 20, 1999 Columbine High School
shooting incident murdered a girl in the cafeteria just because she believed
in God. Isn't that amazing? That boy was nothing in the world but a
twentieth century Cain with a gun.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 1John 3:18a . . My little children, let us not love only in word or in tongue,
but in deed

The Greek word for "deed" is ergon (er'-gon) which primarily has to do with
toil as an effort or occupation; but can also imply the way people act, i.e.
the things they do as opposed to the things they say.

Some Christians can tell you all about love and quote their scriptures about
love hip and thigh, but seem utterly incapable of exemplifying loving
behavior.

● 1John 3:18b . . and in truth.

What is truth? (John 18:38)

Pilate's question was meaningful in his day because ancient philosophers
perpetually discussed and debated the nature of truth without ever achieving
a universal agreement about it.

Well; one of Webster's definitions of "truth" is: a state of being the case; viz:
fact; which Webster's defines as the quality of being actual. In other words:
truth is the way it is; viz: truth is reality as opposed to speculation, fantasy,
opinion, error, inaccuracy, inexactness, theory, imagination, and false
impressions, etc.

The trick to loving in truth is first of all knowing the truth; in other words
there is real love, and then there is what we think is love.

I was once asked by an atheist why Christians need so many rules when
their whole religion is summed up by just one: the Golden Rule.

Well, the world's idea of the so-called golden rule is one thing; which may
not may not conform to God's idea; hence the following commandment.

● Rom 12:2 . . Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and
acceptable and perfect will of God.

There are no short-cuts to the truth. The good path is according to Eph
4:11-15; viz: by teachers and preachers. I do not recommend the self
taught route. People who go that way usually end up with disinformation
lodged in their heads that is not easily corrected. Beware.

● 2Pet 3:16 . .Some of Paul's comments are hard to understand, and those
who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters around to mean
something quite different from what he meant, just as they do the other
parts of Scripture-- and the result is disaster for them.

Anyway, point being: love in accordance with truth may at times seem very
unloving to the world because it doesn't know the truth, nor does it care to
know. I think a fair percentage of the world would agree with Pilate that
truth is uncertain and unknowable.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 1John 4:20-21 . . If someone says "I love God," and hates his brother,
he's a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can
he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from
Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

NOTE: The commandment referenced is located at John 13:34

The Greek word for "love" throughout 1John 4:20-21 is agapao (ag-ap-ah'
o) which is an indistinct word for love that may or may not include affection
and fondness; but it certainly includes things like civility, courtesy,
generosity, lenience, tolerance, charity, kindness, patience, forgiveness,
diplomacy, humility, hospitality, sympathy, respect, tact, etc.

I think that what John is trying to get across is that inconsiderate treatment
of The Father's children betrays one's lack of consideration for a father's
feelings; which is the behavior of a churlish Christian rather than a spiritual
Christian.
_

 

[Blade]

I wonder if love is not also a gift. There's just something that comes from the Father in that moment.. where self is never given a thought. Its easy to know the words verses to walk it talk it but.... its only in that moment...which I personally believe its never us its Him.

 

[morefaithrequired]

love is never getting banned

 

[oldethennew]

'Great peace have they that Love Thy Law, and 'nothing shall offend them'...

 

[iymus]

what love is not

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. (1 Cor 13:4-6)

what love is

4 Love is patient, love is kind. (1 Cor 13:4)
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Cor 13:7)

The following are just my thoughts on it from a universal perspective.

Love is Sincerity and Discipline or Sincere Discipline: Willingly doing what one needs to do or should, which is in turn faithfulness and fulling a role.

If someone loves their wife they will fulfill their role as a husband.

If someone loves being a firefighter they will fulfill their role of a firefighter.

-----------------------------------------

Love: Sincere Discipline, can also be Sincere Consistency

If someone loves being lazy they will fulfill the role of a lazy person.

-----------------------------------------------------

The Creator is Love because he fulfills his role as a Father or Provider and Protector.

We are children of the Father if we fulfill the role of a child.

Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

-------------------------------------------------

Love can be Sincerity when their is no way to act upon that sincerity but consistently think of that sincerity and have a desire to act upon it but unable to.

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 1John 5:16-17 . . If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead
to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose
sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not
saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin
that does not lead to death.

The most common sins unto death are those classified as capital crimes; viz:
those for which the death penalty is the right thing to do. It would be a
miscarriage of justice to pray somebody out of that jam. If the courts and
the laws of the land have decided that they must die; then they must die;
and that's that.

If a fellow believer is on death row for a capital offense; it's best to stay out
of it and let God and the courts handle it. Christians on death row should be
encouraged to man-up (or woman-up, as the case may be) and face the
music rather than expect sympathy from either their church or their
Christian friends. Christians who pray for the release of believers on death
row for capital crimes are not only attempting to obstruct justice, but also in
shameful rebellion against Almighty God's sovereign wishes.

● Rom 13:3-4 . . For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do
you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have
praise from the same. For he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do
evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's
minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 2John 1:5-6 . . And now I beseech you, lady, not as writing to you a new
commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we
love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to His
commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the
beginning, that you should walk in it.

The precise identity of the "lady" of this epistle is impossible to know for
sure. Some have construed it to be Christ's mom, and yet others as a local
church to which John mailed his letter, while others believe it refers to the
church as per Matt 16:18. I tend to think it was a local church since 2John
1:13 indicates the lady had a sister; viz: a sister church.

The first of the two loves in the passage is agapao (ag-ap-ah'-o) which is a
verb. The second love is agape (ag-ah'-pay) which is a noun. Neither of
those two words specifically refer to either affection or fondness.

Things like courtesy, generosity, loyalty, sympathy, kindness, civility, and
charity can all be extended to one's fellow Christians without especially liking
them; in point of fact, we may even wholly despise them with every fiber of
our being. But we dare not allow our low opinion to dictate how we treat
them.

Anyway, the bottom line is: though Christians obsess and chirp about love
till the cows come home, the bald fact is that if they are not complying with
Christ's commandments in their association with other believers, then as
persons they have little to commend them.

NOTE: Christianity is a very practical religion. It not only brings sinners into
a right relationship with their creator, but it also makes them better people;
viz: makes them more humane.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

.
● 3John 1:5-8 . . Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the
brethren, and to strangers; which have borne witness of thy charity before
the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort,
thou shalt do well: because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking
nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such, that we might
be fellow helpers to the truth.

The "Gentiles" in this instance can be considered another word for
unbelievers because that's what most of the non-Israelites were in the
Roman world of that day.

Paul and his contemporaries did not stoop to the despicable practice of
selling tickets to their meetings, and/or passing the hat among the crowds
that gathered to hear them. No, just as the Old Testament's priests were
supported by their constituents, so Christ prefers to draw support from his
own rather than from strangers; for example Luke 4:41 where Jesus forbid
demons to identify him.
_