Love - no such thing

Now that we have established an argument for objective truth and that our actions have eternal consequences (i.e ultimate accountability to our actions exists).
To my mind a next logical pre-supposition to our world view is: What is the objective definition of love?


Consider this:

“
The Biggest Loser star Michelle Bridges and her husband, Bill Moore, have sadly decided to split after nine years of marriage.
S can exclusively reveal the finely sculpted poster girl for fitness and her husband have made the decision to separate - although they remain best friends and partners in their multimillion-dollar fitness empire, with Bill retaining his role as Michelle's business manager.
Lack of time to focus on their personal life was the major contributing factor to the breakdown of their relationship, the couple say. Their drive to help transform the health of Michelle's followers has dominated their lives.
''This is a tough period in our lives but Bill and I have been very honest with ourselves and each other,'' Bridges, 42, told S.
 ''This has led to us prioritising our passion for teaching the steps to health transformation at the cost of our marriage but not at the cost of our friendship and love for each other. We are best mates and that will always be the case.''


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/bridges-breaks-up-20130302-2fcx5.html#ixzz2Mei5Fynd


“Apparently they plan to have the most drama-free divorce in Hollywood, as Brand had only positive things to say about his time with Perry. “Sometimes when you’re in a relationship I suppose it doesn’t work out, does it? But that doesn’t mean I regret it or anything.” He called her a “beautiful human being” he only had “love and positivity” toward her.
”

Russell Brand speaking on the Ellen show about his ex-wife Katie Perry

Now consider this: 


(1 Corinthians)13 

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.


Luke 23

32Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33When they came to a place called The Skull,e they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.
34Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”f And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.g35The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”36The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. 37They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
39One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”
40But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
43And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Romans 5

8 “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”

Mark 12

28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’[g] 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[h] No other commandment is greater than these.”

32 The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. 33 And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

34 Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

You know it's interesting that when love is often described as “the ultimate”, “no greater power”, “the highest calling”... it is given no more than lip service, “motherhood and apple pie”, sloganeering, a nice platitude...

Added to that, billions of us have publicly declared “I will love thee, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, until death do us part”

and so many of us have walked away from it.

(BTW, I say this not to shame or condemn, I am talking about you and me and our world, but not specifically to any person's individual situation, though some of these words may be true to my or your circumstance)

Again, we see in our own lives or those around us with separations of families: “All I want is the best for our kids, they need lot's of loving” when really, what's best for the kids, is for the family to stay together.

And John Lennon, rightly says: “All you need is love”.....

But let me ask you: “What is love”. Because if you or I are to walk in truth, in love, then if our definition of love is wrong, then sooner or later, we're going to be kyboshed – our marriages, our friendships, our family, our extended family, our work relationships, our communities.... and this is what we see either directly or indirectly in our world – the breakdown.

So here's a real world example:

The same sex marriage debate has been framed by “love” (and the equality of it) amongst other things like discrimination and human rights.

So here's a thing: if gay marriage (or polygamous marriage) is legally allowed based on the justification of equal love (“if two or more people love each other and are committed to each other, than who am I to stand in the way”) then what is that definition of love we are using as justification?

Is it the individual's ?

Is it the child's ?

Is it the society's?

Where is our point of reference?

Here's a few others:

A married woman says to her husband: “I'm in love with another man” or “I'm just not in love with you any more”

A woman reflects on her past relationships: “Yes, that relationship was bad love, but I've had some good loving in my time”

A husband says to his wife after telling her she's a rotten mother and can't do much good: “Of course I love you, can we have sex now”

A couple say: “Can we make love?”

Love may have a feeling, but it is evidenced by it's actions. If I say to you: “I love you”, but do nothing, then it's useless. If Christ did nothing while on earth, then God's love is bumpkus.

And what does the Bible say:

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance

Love by definition, demands something of us. Sacrifice, forgiveness, giving, patience, kindness, honour, speaking and walking in truth.

Love deals with the heart, as the motivating primate to our actions. If my heart is contaminated, then my actions will be.

I have been incredibly challenged and reminded about this last aspect in particular.

Because boy it's easy to “go and do good things”, which is great and all, but if I am not doing it with my heart in the right position, then it's not worth doing. Why is that?

The malady of mankind is the rebellion and wickedness of the heart. It's fundamentally broken, and God says: “Look to me, look to my heart – that's what I intend for your heart”.

And He gives us a solution to the malady.

Imagine if you got married and for the entire marriage, they were dutiful, they did lot's of stuff, were faithful, but at the end of it, you knew they didn't love you from their heart. Human nature tells us that resentment and bitterness would be the prevailing thought and feeling to the spouse. What does that tell me? That the heart matters and is the trump card.

“Guard your heart for out it, flow the issues of life” Proverbs 4: 23

Why is it that so many of us, turn from God, because we feel condemned, that He is angry, resentful, bitter towards us? We unknowingly think God's heart does not have love towards us. 

I have a friend, she was brought up Catholic, she believes in God, but can't get her head around His abandoned love for her. That is, she can't see God's heart, His love for her.