Researching the Definition of Love

Okay so I have given Bible verses defining love and its qualities and what it means to love God from the Word.  Now I wanted to research what society defines as love and how these definitions are interrelated and compared to true perfect, Godly love. Here are my findings.

love

verb /ləv/ loved, past participle; loved, past tense; loves, 3rd person singular present; loving, present participle

1.    Feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to (someone)

§  - do you love me?

2.    Like very much; find pleasure in

§  - I'd love a cup of tea, thanks

§  - I just love dancing

§  - a fun-loving girl

noun /ləv/ loves, plural

3.    An intense feeling of deep affection

§  - babies fill parents with intense feelings of love

§  - their love for their country

4.    A deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone

§  - it was love at first sight

§  - they were both in love with her

§  - we were slowly falling in love

5.    A personified figure of love, often represented as Cupid

6.    A great interest and pleasure in something

§  - his love for football

§  - we share a love of music

7.    Affectionate greetings conveyed to someone on one's behalf

8.    A formula for ending an affectionate letter

§  - take care, lots of love, Judy

9.    A person or thing that one loves

§  - she was the love of his life

§  - their two great loves are tobacco and whiskey

10. A friendly form of address

§  - it's all right, love

11. Used to express affectionate approval for someone

§  - don't fret, there's a love

12. (in tennis, squash, and some other sports) A score of zero; nil

§  - love fifteen

- he was down two sets to love

Web definitions

o    a strong positive emotion of regard and affection; "his love for his work"; "children need a lot of love"

o    have a great affection or liking for; "I love French food"; "She loves her boss and works hard for him"

o    any object of warm affection or devotion; "the theater was her first love"; "he has a passion for cock fighting";

o    get pleasure from; "I love cooking"

o    be enamored or in love with; "She loves her husband deeply"

o    beloved: a beloved person; used as terms of endearment

wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

o    Love is the emotion of strong affection and personal attachment.Oxford Illustrated American Dictionary (1998) + Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (2000) In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. ...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love

o    A deep or abiding liking for something; A profound and caring attraction towards someone; The object of one’s romantic feelings; a darling or sweetheart; A term of friendly address, regardless of feelings; To have a strong affection for; To need, thrive on; To be strongly inclined towards ...

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/love

o    An English surname

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Love

o    An attractive, lovely person, especially a (professional) beauty; A lovely object; Inspiring actual love; Evoking love-like, happy emotions by aesthetic or similar endearing qualities; Very nice, wonderful in a general sense; Loving, filled with love

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lovely

o    Differentia: Based on a positive value-judgment, it is positive and often intense

www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Dictionary.html

o    Zero; no points. For example, a score of 40-love means that the server has scored three points and the receiver hasn't scored any. In a set score, it means that the player hasn't won any games. Probably derived from the old French word for egg, l'ove, because a zero is egg-shaped.

www.hickoksports.com/glossary/gtennis.shtml

o    A feeling of intense affection, given freely and without restriction. The best way you can show your love is to wag your tail. If you're lucky, a human will love you in return.

www.pawsperouspets.com/humor/dogdictionary.shtml

o    Love is best explained by actions, as when one of our participants was trying a nasty chemical treatment on her scalp and her whole head blew up like a balloon. Her kindergarten daughter said, "you look so pretty mommy, you should go on a date".

www.alopeciaareata.nl/AlopeciaFAQ-dict.html

o    A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person or idea

www.ethics.org/resource/definitions-values

o    (from NDE) (Old English lëof: dear, or Latin lubere) Jaspers writes that one of the elements of philosophical faith is “love as the fundamental actualization of the eternal man. ...

www.tameri.com/csw/exist/ex_lexicon.html

o    Love is a special feeling that fills your heart. You show love in a smile, a kind word, a thoughtful act or a hug. Love is treating people and things with care and kindness because they mean so much to you. Love is contagious. It keeps spreading.

www.virtuesproject.com/virtuesdef.html

1.

transitive and intransitive verb feel tender affection for somebody: to feel tender affection for somebody such as a close relative or friend, or for something such as a place, an ideal, or an animal

2. 

transitive and intransitive verb feel desire for somebody: to feel romantic and sexual desire and longing for somebody

3. 

transitive verb like something very much: to like something, or like doing, something very much

"I love watching old movies on TV."

4. 

transitive verb show kindness to somebody: to feel and show kindness and charity to somebody

"love your enemies"

5. 

transitive verb have sex with somebody: to have sexual intercourse with somebody ( dated )

 

 

Word Key: Synonyms

love, liking, affection, fondness, passion, infatuation, crush
CORE MEANING: a strong positive feeling toward somebody or something

 

Okay it's me talking now. I was really interested to how many times I heard affection when I was reading these definitions.  Another thing that struck me as odd was the definition with "sexual pleasure" in it. Our society believes that sometimes in order to love, there has to be some sex involved and pleasure. There are some good definitions here though too and some cute ones like the "wag your tail" definition.  What really surprised me is does love really have to be romantic? Some people aren't romantic and you can love your cousins or family without ever being romantic with them. Is it possible to love someone who isn't a "close relative or friend" I think so.  Why is it not possible to love for the sake of loving? You know what I like about the Bible, it talks about the qualities of love and not so busy with trying to define it. Do your own research, which "definitions" make you feel closer to knowing what love is? The Bible or the Internet (which is supposed to be what the world thinks)? I sm so happy that I finally did this research because I now know that because I love God, I understand what true love is and I do not have to resort to some boring dictionary definition that doesn't even come close to embodying true love.

Love Quotes II

"True love is your soul's recognition of its counterpart in another." - Wedding Crashers

"To love someone is to love all of them, in and out, no matter what."  Need an example, think about God's love.

Just Talking from the Heart...

Love keeps me grounded and drives me crazy at the same time. I am so in love with Christ and I can openly express that. I can share with the world that love and it emanates from me with a passion and each week that I go to church and Bible study, I feel that love getting stronger and more connected.  Each day I read a Scripture, I feel a sense of certainty in at least one situation going on in my life.  Each time I sing and praise the Lord, I feel the Spirit within me. I know that Jesus is right next to me always.

Then I am so in love with him and I have to hold it in like a full bottle of water about to bust in the freezer.  I can’t show it and I cannot share it. I cannot hold him or kiss him.  I cannot stay up until the wee hours of the morning talking about all the things I want to get off my chest. I have to choose to stay away from him and push him away to relieve my guilt.

The thing is I am not miserable, I am not depressed. I just want something so bad that every day the memories fill in and every day is a day lost.

Second Best

" I will not settle, but if I were to settle, it would be you. Second Best. "

And when second best comes back into your life, what do you do? Do you move them to first place? Can your heart mend to love another? And what was the point of waiting for the short amount of time already? I miss my love so much. I think about him every day.  I could not even fully enjoy my vacation because the memories kept popping up in my head every place we went. I thought about him and then at the end of my trip, we were obligated to see each other.  Transferring the dog from one place to another.  Seeing his face, both of us avoiding eye contact, both of us avoiding the painful look in each others’ faces. I just do not know if I want to go down that emotional road again. 

But if I was going to go down that road a second time, I couldn’t see it being with anyone else but second best. Yet there would have to be some serious communication.  We just do not understand each other most of the time. But our friendship is something serious. I have to say there is something there that makes us come back even years after fights.  I need to pray on this. I do not like nor want to be confused. Love should be sure of itself.  I know that I love God.  I know that I love him but I really do not know if I love second best or if it’s an attraction that pops up every time I feel lonely.  Every time I feel like being in someone's arms.  I do not want to be alone. I do not want to be unhappy like my parents.  I do not want people around me not to see me smile.  It seems like everyone wants to be in my life.  They want to take a piece of me with them, yet they do not want to give me a piece of them. They do not want to walk out on that branch and meet we halfway but be on the other end at the other side.  Why should I have to travel on that long branch by myself?

Vacation was very fun but difficult. My mother and I stayed in the same hotel that my love and I spent those days together last year.  We passed the caricature drawing stand. We went to the Seafood Buffet. We went to the World's Largest Gift shop.  All the while, passing all the places that I had wonderful memories in: Paris, The Tram, The Venetian, Monte Carlo, the M&M store, Treasure Island, Circus Circus, The movie theatre, The expensive gas station off the 15, the Del taco on the corner of Silverado Ranch Blvd and Las Vegas Blvd and so much more. I couldn't stop thinking about him, I sounded like a broken record, I could not stop saying his name.

Then the last night in the hotel and second best hits me up. When I get home, second best tells me he wants to be in my life again. He wants things to be as they used to be. I am not sure that I like him let alone will want to love him. He will always be my friend, that's for sure: I do not know why but he keeps popping back into my life like my monthly period. So there is a reason why he fits into the chapters of my life. But I do not want to be thinking it is more than it is or worse, he think that. I know where my heart lies. 

I cannot wait to start working and being busy again. I need to occupy my mind with something else other than memories.  I feel like I am stronger now to defeat temptation though.  But what is the point? My love life is on shut down right now. I need to go to church. Missing a week put me in a difficult head space. But I will be back this week, ready to receive my "food" from the Lord. But remember love is special, and it requires a lot of things but it will never fail. Never ever.

Love Poems I

Big Brown Eyes

Your big brown eyes send a chill down my spine

I lose myself in your eyes those big brown eyes

Connect me to your mind

Emotions are shared

Love, pain, smiles your eyes make me wild

How divine it is to stare into ur big brown eyes

By: A.H.

Sweet Love

Mi amor dulce siempre

Sera tuya

For now and for ever

Mi amor dulce siempre

te spera cuando son dias largos

With my arms waiting to embrace you

Mi amor dulce

By: A.H.

Untitled

Hold me in your arms sweet thing
Whisper sweet nothings in my ear
Tell me you love me one more time
Tell me you'll always be there.

Give me the hope that I need,
to survive this cruel world and
share my love with your
body, heart and soul

So that all is one and one is all
And nothing will break the chains
that bind our spirits, spirits of love
protectors of our emotions

I can't sleep without hearing your
spoken word nor dream without your
comfort. When the world stops spinning
I know I will still have you next to me

Loving me, holding me, telling me
not to fear. Take these words I give
you and keep them near. For when
all else fails, I'll always be here.

By: yours truly (2008)



More to come....

Song of Solomon 8 vs 6-7

I read the whole book of Song of Solomon last night and it was beautiful to me to read a love story in the Bible with conversation.  Not just the love for God but a love between two people.  And this is what the love story had to say about love.

"The Shumalite to Her Beloved"

6: Set me as a seal upon your heart,

As a seal upon your arm;

For love is as strong as death,

Jealousy as cruel as the grave;

Its flames are flames of fire,

A most vehement flame.

7: Many waters cannot quench love,

Nor can the floods drown it.

If a man would give for love

All the wealth of his house,

It would be utterly despised.

New King James Version

In the notes in my Bible it says, "seal...This represents their publicly declared mutual love for one another" and "For love. This represents 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 of the Old Testament. Four qualities of love appear: 1) love is unyielding in marriage, as death is to life; 2) love is intense like the brightest flame, perhaps as bright as the glory of the Lord; 3) love is invincible or unquenchable, even when flooded by difficulty; and 4) love is so priceless that it cannot be bought, only given away."

I totally agree with this.

Last Night

I was crying.  Instead of crying myself to sleep.  I called on the Lord my Father.  I called to him and praised him and asked for help.  Suddenly the tears stopped coming.  Suddenly my Spirit was at rest.  Suddenly the love of Jesus was flowing through my body.  My mind was clear. It was like the moment I spoke tongues in church. It was like I was connected to a direct line through the Spirit.  I knew what I had to do. I knew what I had to say.  I knew Jesus and the Holy Spirit had come into my heart and the devil was banished.

I had to do the unthinkable.  The unbelievable up to that point.  But I knew I was wrong, each second I felt guilty was a second that I lost with God. Other sins started to creep into my heart and I could not have that.  I could not and will not let the devil win.  I can love behind a curtain.  I can love from afar.  I can and will love. Nobody can take away my ability. I wanted so much to try to make this work but it was not working for me at all. I was lying to myself. I was miserable and did not even know it. I was making excuses and hanging on to hope.

The Lord loves me. He took my pain away immediately.  I feel sympathy toward those who do not have Jesus nor love Jesus. I have so much to live for. So much to love for. I will focus on that.  Yes, I lost a best friend, but we will both be in a better place.  I have to believe that. I know it seems like I am going back and forth but if I would've listened and stuck with God's decision in the first place it would have been consistent.  Instead I listened to him and I was being selfish. We both were. Now I think my heart can truly heal and love God's way.

Love is a challenge. I have yet to see a Scripture that says Love is easy. But it is so worth it.
Thank you Jesus.
I love you Jesus.