What is Love?

No, I’m not referring to Haddaway’s 1990’s hit, revived by the SNL ‘Roxbury’ sketches.

Every year around Valentine’s Day, 1 Corinthians 13 trends on Twitter and Facebook because of its references to love. The same passage is so commonly used in wedding ceremonies (mine included) that it’s almost a pre-requisite.

I’m tempted to roll my eyes at the litany of 1 Corinthians 13 Tweets and status updates, because the word used in that passage for love is a Greek word (agapē). Agapē describes the love that only God can manifest, not the romantic love (eros) touted on February 14th. Agapē is the word used in 1 John 4:8 to describe God Himself. By contrast, the Greek word used in the Bible to describe the interrelationships of humans is phileō.  

As a culture, we’ve enslaved the Corinthians passage to our arbitrary Valentine’s Day agenda. First Corinthians is a stunning exhortation to love (agapē) one another in the same fashion that God loves us.  To love this way is to bear His mark. (John 13:35) In this we identify ourselves with Him.

I want this passage to be the battle cry for marriage, parenting and relationships of all kinds. Would our world look different if we let the Holy Spirit have His way in our hearts, manifesting agapē through us? (Galatians 5:22-23)

• What if all giving were motivated by love, not duty?  Would there be any needy among us the world over?
• Would today’s teen culture look different if parents were consistently patient, kind and present?
• Would American thirst for ‘more’ be quenched if jealousy and pride were absent?
• Would global and interpersonal relations be improved if no record of wrongs were kept?
• Would human slaves be freed if injustice were not tolerated?
• Would the divorce rate plummet if marriages never lost faith but always hoped?

This is a ministry of the Holy Spirit.  We are able to love like this only to the degree that we’re connected and yielded to Him.  He has given us a pattern for loving well, demonstrated most poignantly in Christ. This is life-changing, history-altering, soul-saving love. Our everyday phileō should emulate His agapē. 

So, what is love? It is a glorious manifestation of God in, through and to His beloved creation.

To whom can you show agapē love today?