The meanings of Love By Hearts and Minds Media

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“You shall not hate your brother in your heart” (Leviticus 19:17). “You shall ...... is forbidden. .... Here are 50 of the best love quotes you will find online, perfect for.
The meanings of Love

By Hearts and Minds Media / Open Faith Ministries

J Horsfield 2017

According to Merriam-Webster dictionaries definition of love 1. 1a (1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties maternal love for a child (2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers After all these years, they are still very much in love. (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests love for his old schoolmatesb : an assurance of affection give her my love 2. 2 : warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion love of the sea 3. 3a : the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration baseball was his first loveb (1) : a beloved person : darling —often used as a term of endearment (2) British —used as an informal term of address 4. 4a : unselfish loyal and benevolent (see benevolent 1a) concern for the good of another: such as (1) : the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2) : brotherly concern for othersb : a person's adoration of God 5. 5 : a god (such as Cupid or Eros) or personification of love 6. 6 : an amorous episode : love affair 7. 7 : the sexual embrace : copulation 8. 8 : a score of zero (as in tennis) 9. 9 capitalized, Christian Science : god

The Meanings of Love in the Bible Article by John Piper Founder & Teacher, desiringGod.org Love in the Bible, as in our everyday usage, can be directed from person to person or from a person to things. When directed toward things, love means enjoying or taking pleasure in those things. Love towards persons is more complex. As with things, loving persons may mean simply enjoying them and taking pleasure in their personalities, looks, achievements, etc. But there is another aspect of interpersonal love that is very important in the Bible. There is the aspect of love for persons who are not attractive or virtuous or productive. In this case, love is not a delight in what a person is, but a deeply felt commitment to helping him be what he ought to be. As we will see, the love for things and both dimensions of the love for persons are richly illustrated in the Bible. As we examine the Old Testament and the New Testament in turn, our focus will be on God’s love, then on man’s love for God, man’s love for man and man’s love for things.

Love in the Old Testament Jesus said that the greatest commandment in the Old Testament was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind” (Matthew 22:36ff; Deuteronomy 6:5). The

second commandment was, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39; Leviticus 19:18). Then he said, “On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets” (Matthew 22:40). This must mean that if a person understood and obeyed these two commandments, he would understand and fulfill what the whole Old Testament was trying to teach. Everything in the Old Testament, when properly understood, aims basically to transform men and women into people who fervently love God and their neighbor.

God’s Love You can tell what a person loves by what he devotes himself to most passionately. What a person values most is reflected in his actions and motivations. It is plain in the Old Testament that God’s highest value, his greatest love, is his own name. From the beginning of Israel’s history to the end of the Old Testament era God was moved by this great love. He says through Isaiah that he created Israel “for his glory” (Isaiah 43:7): “You are my servant Israel in whom I will be glorified” (Isaiah 49:3). Thus when God delivered Israel from bondage in Egypt and preserved them in the wilderness it was because he was acting for his own name’s sake, “that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations” (Ezekiel 20:9, 14, 22; cf Exodus 14:4). And when God drove out the other nations from the Promised Land of Canaan, he was “making himself a name” (2 Samuel 7:23). Then finally at the end of the Old Testament era, after Israel had been taken into captivity in Babylon, God plans to have mercy and save his people. He says, “For my name’s sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you…For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 48:9, 11 cf. Ezekiel 36:22, 23, 32). From these texts we can see how much God loves his own glory and how deeply committed he is to preserving the honor of his name. This is not evil of God. On the contrary, his very righteousness depends on his maintaining a full allegiance to the infinite value of his glory. This is seen in the parallel phrases of Psalm 143:11, “For thy name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In thy righteousness, bring me out of trouble.” God would cease to be righteous if he ceased to love his own glory on which his people bank all their hope. Since God delights so fully in his glory—the beauty of his moral perfection—it is to be expected that he delights in the reflections of this glory in the world. He loves righteousness and justice (Psalm 11:7; 33:5; 37:28; 45:7; 99:4; Isaiah 61:8); he “delights in truth in the inward parts” (Psalm 51:6); he loves his sanctuary where he is worshipped (Malachi 2:11) and Zion, the “city of God” (Psalm 87:2, 3). But above all in the Old Testament, God’s love for his own glory involves him in an eternal commitment to the people of Israel. The reason this is so is that an essential aspect of God’s glory is his sovereign freedom in choosing to bless the undeserving. Having freely chosen to establish a covenant with Israel, God glorifies himself in maintaining a loving commitment to this people. The relationship between God’s love and his election of Israel is seen in the following texts. When Moses wanted to see God’s glory, God responded that he would proclaim his glorious name to him. An essential aspect of God’s name, his identity, was then given in the words “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will show mercy on whom I will show

mercy” (Exodus 33:18, 19). In other words, God’s sovereign freedom in dispensing mercy on whomever he pleases is integral to his very being as God. It is important to grasp this selfidentification because it is the basis of the covenant established with Israel on Mount Sinai. God’s love for Israel is not a dutiful divine response to a covenant; rather, the covenant is a free and sovereign expression of divine mercy or love. We read in Exodus 34:6-7 how God identified himself more fully before he reconfirms the covenant (Exodus 34:10): “The Lord … proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin …’” Thus the Mosaic Covenant, as with God’s oath to the patriarchs earlier (Deuteronomy 4:37; 10:15), was rooted in God’s free and gracious love. It is wrong, therefore, to say that the Mosaic Law is any more contrary to grace and faith than are the commands of the New Testament. The Mosaic Covenant demanded a lifestyle consistent with the merciful covenant God had established, but it also provided forgiveness for sins and thus did not put a man under a curse for a single failure. The relationship which God established with Israel and the love he had for her was likened to that between a husband and a wife: “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, behold, you were at the age for love; and I spread my skirt over you, and covered your nakedness: yea, I plighted my troth to you and entered into a covenant with you,” says the Lord God, “and you became mine.” This is why Israel’s later idolatry is sometimes called adultery, because she goes after other gods (Ezekiel 23; 16:15; Hosea 3:1). But in spite of Israel’s repeated unfaithfulness to God, he declares, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3; cf. Hosea 2:16-20; Isaiah 54:8). At other times, God’s love to his people is likened to a father for a son or a mother to her child: “I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born” (Jeremiah 31:9, 20). “Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15; 66:13). However, the love of God for Israel did not exclude severe judgment upon Israel when it lapsed into unbelief. The destruction of the Northern Kingdom by Assyria in 722 B.C. (2 Kings 18:9, 10) and the captivity of the Southern Kingdom in Babylon in the years following 586 B.C. (2 Kings 25:8-11) show that God would not tolerate the unfaithfulness of his people. “The Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights” (Proverbs 3:12). In fact, the Old Testament closes with many of God’s promises unfulfilled. The question of how God’s undying love for Israel will express itself in the future is picked up in the New Testament by Paul. See especially Romans 11. God’s relationship to Israel as a nation did not mean that he had no dealings with individuals, nor did his treatment of the nation as a whole prevent him from making distinctions among individuals. Paul taught in Romans 9:6-13 and 11:2-10 that already in the Old Testament “not all Israel was Israel.” In other words, the promises of God’s love to Israel did not apply without distinction to all individual Israelites. This will help us understand such texts as the following: “The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but he loves him who pursues righteousness” (Proverbs 15:9). “The Lord loves those who hate evil” (Psalm 97:10). “The Lord loves the righteous” (Psalm 146:8). “His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man; but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 147:10, 11; 103:13).

In these texts, God’s love is not directed equally toward all. In its full saving effect, the love of God is enjoyed only by “those who hope in his steadfast love.” This does not mean that God’s love is no longer free and unmerited. For on the one hand, the very disposition to fear God and obediently hope in him is a gift of God (Deuteronomy 29:4; Psalm 119:36) and on the other hand, the appeal of the saint who hopes in God is not to his own merit, but to God’s faithfulness to the lowly who have no strength and can only trust in mercy (Psalm 143:2, 8, 11). Therefore, as in the New Testament (John 14:21, 23; 16:27), the full enjoyment of God’s love is conditional upon an attitude appropriate for receiving it, namely, a humble reliance upon God’s mercy: “Trust in the Lord and he will act” (Psalm 37:5).

Man’s Love for God Another way to describe the stance which a person must assume in order to receive the fullness of God’s loving help is that the person must love God. “The Lord preserves all who love him; but all the wicked he will destroy” (Psalm 145:20). “Let all who take refuge in thee rejoice, let them ever sing for joy; and do thou defend them, that those who love thy name may exult in thee” (Psalm 5:11; cf. Isaiah 56:6, 7; Psalm 69:36). “Turn to me and be gracious to me as is your way with those who love you” (Psalm 119:132). These texts are simply an outworking in the life of the stipulations laid down in the Mosaic Covenant (the Abrahamic covenant had its conditions too, though love is not mentioned explicitly: Genesis 18:19; 22:16-18; 26:5). God said to Moses, “I am a jealous God, showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10; Nehemiah 1:5; Daniel 9:4). Since loving God was the first and allembracing condition of the covenant promise, it became the first and great commandment in the law: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). This love is not a service done for God to earn his benefits. That is unthinkable: “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty and terrible God who is not partial and takes no bribe” (Deuteronomy 10:17). It is not a work done for God, but rather a happy and admiring acceptance of His commitment to work for those who trust him (Psalm 37:5; Isaiah 64:4). Thus the Mosaic Covenant begins with a declaration which holds great promise for Israel: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Exodus 20:2). The command to love God is a command to delight in him and to admire him above all else and to be content with his commitment to work mightily for his people. Thus, unlike God’s love for Israel, Israel’s love for God was a response to what he had done and would do on her behalf (cf. Deuteronomy 10:20-11:1). The response character of man’s love for God is seen as well in Joshua 23:11 and Psalm 116:1. In its finest expressions, it became the all-consuming passion of life (Psalm 73:21-26).

Man’s Love for Man If a person admires and worships God and finds fulfillment by taking refuge in his merciful care, then his behavior toward his fellow man will reflect the love of God. The second great commandment of the Old Testament, as Jesus called it (Matthew 22:39), comes from Leviticus 19:18, “You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” The term “neighbor”

here probably means fellow-Israelite. But in Leviticus 19:34 God says, “The stranger who sojourns with you shall be to you as a native among you and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” We can understand the motivation of love here if we cite a close parallel in Deuteronomy 10:18, 19, “God executes justice for the fatherless and the widow and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” This is a close parallel to Leviticus 19:34, because both refer to Israel’s sojourn in Egypt and both command love for the sojourner. But most important, the words “I am the Lord your God” in Leviticus 19:34 are replaced in Deuteronomy 10:12-22 with a description of God’s love, justice and mighty deeds for Israel. The Israelites are to show the same love to the sojourners as God has shown them. Similarly, Leviticus 19 begins with the command, “You shall be holy for I, the Lord your God, am holy.” Then the phrase, “I am the Lord,” is repeated fifteen times in chapter 19 after the individual commands. So the intention of the chapter is to give specific instances of how to be holy as God is holy. Seen in the wider context of Deuteronomy 10:12-22, this means that a person’s love for his fellow man should spring from God’s love and thus reflect his character. We should notice that the love commanded here relates to both outward deeds and inward attitudes. “You shall not hate your brother in your heart” (Leviticus 19:17). “You shall not take vengeance (deed) or bear any grudge (attitude)” (Leviticus 19:18). And to love your neighbor as yourself does not mean to have a positive self-image or high self-esteem. It means using the same zeal, ingenuity and perseverance to pursue your neighbor’s happiness as you do your own. For other texts on self-love see Proverbs 19:8; 1 Samuel 18:1, 20:17. If love among men is to reflect God’s love, it will have to include the love of enemies, at least to some degree. For God’s love to Israel was free, unmerited and slow to anger, forgiving many sins that created enmity between him and his people (Exodus 34:6, 7). And his mercy extended beyond the bounds of Israel (Genesis 12:2, 3; 18:18; Jonah 4:2). Therefore, we find instructions to love the enemy. “If you meet your enemy’s ox or ass going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the ass of one who hates you lying under its burden, you shall not leave him with it, you shall help him lift it up” (Exodus 23:4, 5). “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls” (Proverbs 24:17). “If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat” (Proverbs 25:21). See also Proverbs 24:29; 1 Kings 3:10; Job 31:29, 30; 2 Kings 6:21-23. But this enemy-love must be qualified in two ways: First, in the Old Testament, God’s way of working in the world had a political dimension which it does not have today. His people were a distinct ethnic and political group and God was their law-giver, their king and their warrior in a very direct way. Thus, for example, when God decided to punish the Canaanites for their idolatry he used his people to drive them out (Deuteronomy 20:18). This act by Israel cannot be called love for their enemies (cf. Deuteronomy 7:1, 2; 25:17-19; Exodus 34:12). We should probably think of such events as special instances in redemptive history in which God uses his people to execute his vengeance (Deuteronomy 32:35; Joshua 23:10) on a wicked nation. Such instances should not be used today to justify personal vindictiveness or holy wars, since God’s purposes in the world today are not accomplished through an ethnic political group on par with Israel in the Old Testament. The second qualification of the enemy-love is required by the psalms in which the psalmist declares his hate for men who defy God, “who lift themselves up against thee for evil! Do I not loathe them that rise up against thee? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my

enemies.” (Psalm 139:19-22). The psalmist’s hate is based on their defiance against God and is conceived as virtuous alignment with God’s own hate of evildoers (Psalm 5:4-6; 11:5; 31:6; Proverbs 3:32; 6:16; Hosea 9:15). But as strange as it may seem, this hate does not necessarily result in vengeance. The psalmist leaves that in God’s hands and even treats these hated ones kindly. This is seen in Psalm 109:4, 5 and 35:1, 12-14. There may be two ways to justify this hate. On the one hand, it could sometimes represent a strong aversion toward the ill will that seeks the destruction of person. On the other hand, where there is a will for destruction expressed, it may represent the God-given certainty that the evil person is beyond repentance with no hope of salvation and therefore under the just sentence of God expressed by the psalmist (compare 1 John 5:16). Besides these more religious dimensions of love, the Old Testament is rich with illustrations and instructions for love between father and son (Genesis 22:2; 37:3; Proverbs 13:24), mother and son (Genesis 25:28), wife and husband (Judges 14:16; Ecclesiastes 9:9; Genesis 24:67; 29:18, 30, 32; Proverbs 5:19), lovers (1 Samuel 18:20; 2 Samuel 13:1), slaves and masters (Exodus 21:5; Deuteronomy 15:16), the king and his subjects (1 Samuel 18:22), a people and their hero (1 Samuel 18:28), friends (1 Samuel 18:1; 20:17; Proverbs 17:17; 27:6), daughterin-law and mother-in-law (Ruth 4:15). Especially worthy of note is the Song of Solomon, which expresses the wholesome delight in the sexual fulfillment of love between a man and a woman.

Man’s Love for Things There are a few instances in the Old Testament of simple, everyday love of things: Isaac loved a certain meat (Genesis 27:4); Uzziah loved the soil (2 Chronicles 26:10); many love life (Psalm 34:12). But usually when love is not directed toward persons it is directed to virtues or vices. For the most part, this sort of love is simply an inevitable fruit of one’s love for God or rebellion against God. On the positive side, there is love for God’s commandments (Psalm 112:1; 119:35, 47), his law (Psalm 119:97), his will (Psalm 40:8), his promise (Psalm 119:140) and his salvation (Psalm 40:16). Men are to love the good and hate evil (Amos 5:15), love truth and peace (Zechariah 8:19) and love mercy (Micah 6:8) and wisdom (Proverbs 4:6). On the negative side, we find people loving evil (Micah 3:2), lying and false prophecy (Psalm 4:2; 52:3, 4; Zechariah. 8:17; Jeremiah 5:31; 14:10), idols (Hosea 9:1, 10; Jeremiah 2:25), oppression (Hosea 12:7), cursing (Psalm 109:17), laziness (Proverbs 20:13), foolishness (Proverbs 1:22), violence (Psalm 11:5) and bribery (Isaiah 1:23). In short, many people “love their shame more than their glory” (Hosea 4:17), which is the same as loving death (Proverbs 8:36). The sum of the matter is that satisfaction is not to be had in setting one’s affections on anything but God (cf. Ecclesiastes 5:10; 12:13).

Love in the New Testament What makes the New Testament new is the appearance of the Son of God on the scene of human history. In Jesus Christ we see as never before a revelation of God. As he said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9; cf. Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3). For in a real sense, Jesus was God. (John 1:1; 20:28).

But the coming of Christ not only brings about the revelation of God. By his death and resurrection Christ also brings about the salvation of men (Romans 5:6-11). This salvation includes forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7), access to God (Ephesians 2:18), the hope of eternal life (John 3:16), and a new heart which is inclined to do good deeds (Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:14). Therefore, when dealing with love, we must try to relate everything to Jesus Christ and his life, death and resurrection. In the life and death of Christ we see in a new way what God’s love is and what man’s love for God and for others should be. And through faith, the Spirit of Christ, living in us enables us to follow his example.

God’s Love for His Son In the Old Testament we saw that God loves his own glory and delights to display it in creation and redemption. A deeper dimension of this self-love becomes clear in the New Testament. It is still true that God aims in all his works to display his glory for men to enjoy and praise (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14; John 17:4). But what we learn now is that Christ “reflects the very glory of God and bears the stamp of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). “In him dwells all the fullness of deity” (Colossians 2:9). In short, Christ is God and has eternally existed in a mysterious union with his Father (John 1:1). Therefore, God’s self-love, or his love for his own glory, can now be seen as a love for “the glory of Christ who is the likeness of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4; cf. Philippians 2:6). The love that God the Father has for the Son is expressed often in the Gospel of John (3:35; 5:20; 10:17; 15:9, 10; 17:23-26) and occasionally elsewhere (Matthew 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Ephesians 1:6; Colossians 1:13). This love within the Trinity itself is important for Christians for two reasons: First, the costly beauty of the incarnation and death of Christ cannot be understood without it. Second, it is the very love of the Father for the Son which the Father pours into the hearts of believers (John 17:26). The ultimate hope of the Christian is to see the glory of God in Christ (John 17:5), to be with him (John 14:24) and to delight in him as much as his Father does (John 17:26).

God’s Love for Men In Romans 8:35 Paul said, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” In verse 39 he says, “Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” This change from “Christ” to “God in Christ” shows that under the heading “God’s love for men” we must include Christ’s love for men, since his love is an extension of God’s. The most basic thing that can be said about love in relation to God is that “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16; cf. 2 Corinthians 13:11). This does not mean that God is an old-fashioned name for the ideal of love. It suggests, rather, that one of the best words to describe God’s character is love. God’s nature is such that in his fullness he needs nothing (Acts 17:25) but rather overflows in goodness. It is his nature to love. Because of this divine love, God sent his only Son into the world so that by Christ’s death for sin (1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18) all those who believe might have eternal life (John 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; 1 John 3:1; Titus 3:4). “In this act we see what real love is: it is not our love for God, but his love for us, when he sent his Son to satisfy God’s anger

against our sin” (1 John 4:10). Indeed, it is precisely God’s wrath from which believers are saved by faith in the death and resurrection of Christ (Romans 5:9). But we must not imagine that Christ is loving while God is angry. “God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). It is God’s own love which finds a way to save us from his own wrath (Ephesians 2:3-5). Nor should we think of the Father forcing the Son to die for man. The repeated message of the New Testament is that “Christ loved us and gave himself for us” (Galatians 2:2; Ephesians 5:2; 1 John 3:16). “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1; 15:9, 12, 13). And the love of the risen Christ guides (2 Corinthians 5:14), sustains (Romans 8:35) and reproves (Revelations 3:19) his people still. Another misconception that must be avoided is that the love of God and Christ can be merited or earned by anyone. Jesus was accused of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 11:9; Luke 7:34). The answer he gave was, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Mark 2:17). At another time when Jesus was accused of eating with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 15:1, 2) he told three parables of how it gladdens the heart of God when one sinner repents (Luke 5:3-32). In this way, Jesus showed that his saving love aimed to embrace not those who thought they were righteous (Luke 18:9) but rather the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3) like the tax collector who said, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). The love of Jesus could not be earned; it could only be freely accepted and enjoyed. Unlike the legalism of the Pharisees, it was a “light burden” and an “easy yoke” (Matthew 11:30). The reason Jesus demonstrated a love for those who could not merit his favor is that he was like his Father. He taught that God “makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45), “he is kind to the grateful and to the selfish” (Luke 6:35). Paul too stresses that the unique thing about divine love is that it seeks to save even enemies. He describes it like this: “While we were yet helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6-8). While it is true that God in one sense loves the whole world in that he sustains the world (Acts 14:17; 17:25; Matthew 5:45) and has made a way of salvation for any who will believe, nevertheless, he does not love all men in the same way. He has chosen some before the foundation of the world to be his sons (Ephesians 1:5) and predestined them for glory (Romans 8:29-30; 9:11, 23; 11:7, 28; 1 Peter 1:2). God has set his love on these chosen ones in a unique way (Colossians 3:12; Romans 11:28; 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 1:4; Jude 1) so that their salvation is sure. These he draws to Christ (John 6:44, 65) and makes alive (Ephesians 2:4, 5); others he leaves in the hardness of their sinful heart (Romans 11:7; Matthew 11:25, 26; Mark 4:11, 12). There is a mystery in God’s electing love. Why he chooses one and not another is not revealed. We are only told that it is not due to any merit or human distinctive (Rom 9:10-13). Therefore, all boasting is excluded (Romans 3:27; 11:18, 20, 25; Ephesians 2:8; Philippians 2:12, 13), it is a gift of God from start to finish (John 6:65). We deserved nothing since we were all sinners, and everything we have is due to God who has mercy (Romans 9:16). The way one finds oneself within this saving love of God is by faith in the promise that

“whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). Then Jude 21 says, “Keep yourself in the love of God” and Romans 11:22 says, “Continue in God’s kindness.” It is clear from Romans 11:20-22 that this means keep on trusting God: “You stand fast only through faith.” So one never earns God’s saving love; one remains within it only by trusting in the loving promises of God. This is true even when Jesus says that the reason God loves his disciples is because they keep his word (John 14:23), for the essence of Jesus’ word is a call to live by faith (John 16:27; 20:31).

Man’s Love for God and Christ Jesus sums up the whole Old Testament in the commandments to love God with all your heart and soul and mind and to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). The failure to love God like this characterized many of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day (Luke 11:42). Jesus said this was the reason they did not love and accept him (John 5:42; 8:42). He and the Father are one (John 10:30), so that loving one with all the heart involves loving the other, too. Since the “greatest commandment” is to love God, it is not surprising that very great benefits are promised to those who do. “All things work together for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28). “No eye has seen nor ear heard … what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9; cf. Ephesians 6:24). “If one loves God, he is known by God” (1 Corinthians 8:3). “God has promised a crown of life to those who love him” (James 1:12; 3:5; cf. 2 Timothy 4:8). But on the other side there are grave warnings to those who do not love God (2 Timothy 2:14; 1 John 2:15-17) and Christ (1 Corinthians 16:22; Matthew 10:37-39). Now the question arises: If the same benefits depend on loving God and Christ which at the same time depend on faith, what is the relationship between loving God and trusting him? We need to recall that love for God, unlike love for a needy neighbor, is not a longing to supply some lack on his part by our service (Acts 17:5). Rather, love for God is a deep adoration for his moral beauty and his complete fullness and sufficiency. It is delighting in him and a desire to know him and be with him. But in order to delight in God, one must have some conviction that he is good, and some assurance that our future with him will be a happy one. That is, one must have the kind of faith described in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.” Therefore, faith precedes and enables our love for God. Confidence in God’s promise grounds our delight in his goodness. There is another way to conceive of loving God: not just delighting in who he is and what he promises, but wanting to please him. Is there a place for this love in the life of the believer? Indeed, there is (John 8:29; Romans 8:8; 1 Corinthians 7:32; 2 Corinthians 5:9; Galatians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:1); however, we must guard very closely here against dishonoring God by presuming to become his benefactors. Hebrews 11:6 shows us the way: “Without faith it is impossible to please God. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he becomes the rewarder of those who seek him.” Here the faith which pleases God has two convictions: that God exists and that to find him is to be greatly rewarded. Therefore, in order to love God in the sense of pleasing him, we must never approach him because we want to reward him, but only because he rewards us. In short, we become the source of God’s pleasure to the extent that he is the source of ours. We can do him a favor

only by happily accepting all his favors. We best express our love for him when we live not presumptuously, as God’s benefactors, but humbly and happily as the beneficiaries of his mercy. The person who lives this way will inevitably keep the commandments of Jesus (John 14:15) and of God (1 John 5:3).

Man’s Love for Man Jesus’ second commandment was, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31, 33; Luke 10:27). We already discussed what this meant in Leviticus 19:18. The best interpretations of it in Jesus’ own words are the Golden Rule (“As you wish that men would do to you, do so to them,” Luke 6:31) and the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). It means that we should seek the good of others as earnestly as we desire good to come our way. This is the most frequently cited Old Testament commandment in the New Testament (Matthew 19:19; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:28; James 2;8). After this commandment, probably the most famous passage on love in the New Testament is 1 Corinthians 13. Here Paul shows that there can be religiosity and humanitarianism without love. “If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). This raises the question of what this love is if one could sacrifice his life and still not have it. The New Testament answer is that the kind of love Paul is talking about must spring from a motivation which takes into account the love of God in Christ. Genuine love is born of faith in the loving promises of God. Paul says that “whatever is not from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). More positively he says, “Faith works through love” (Galatians 5:6). Or as John puts it, “We know and believe the love God has for us …. We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:16, 19). Therefore, Christian love exists only where the love of God in Christ is known and trusted. This profound link between faith and love probably accounts for why Paul mentions the two together so often (Ephesians 1:15; 6:23; Colossians 1:4; 1 Thessalonians 3:6; 5:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 1:3; 2:2; Titus 2:2; 3:15; cf. Revelations 2:19). But why is it that faith always “works through love”? One of the hallmarks of love is that it “seeks not its own” (1 Corinthians 13:5). It does not manipulate others in order to win their approval or gain some material reward. Rather, it seeks to reward others and build them up (1 Corinthians 8:1; Romans 14:15; Ephesians 4:16; Romans 13:10). Love does not use others for its own ends; it delights to be a means to their welfare. If this is the hallmark of love, how can sinful men, who by nature are selfish (Ephesians 2:3), ever love each other? The answer of the New Testament is that we must be born again: “the one who loves has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7). To be born of God means to become his child with his character and to be transferred from death to life: “We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren” (1 John 3:14). God himself abides in his children by his Spirit (1 John 3:9; 4:12, 13) so that when they love it is because his love is being perfected in them (1 John 3:7, 12, 16). Paul teaches the same thing when he says love is a “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22; Colossians 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:7), that it is “from God” (Ephesians 6:23) and is “taught by God,” not men (1 Thessalonians 4:9). The fact that love is enabled only by God is seen in Paul’s prayers also: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and

to all men” (1 Thessalonians 3:12; Philippians 1:9). Now we are in a position to answer our earlier question: Why does faith always work through love? Faith is the way we receive the Holy Spirit, whose fruit is love. Paul asks, “Did you receive the Spirit by works of law or by hearing with faith” (Galatians 5:2)? The answer is clearly faith. This means that the essential characteristic of the person who has been born again and is being led by the Spirit of God is faith (John 1:12, 13). Therefore, while love is a fruit of the Spirit, it is also a fruit of faith, since it is by faith that the Spirit works (Galatians 3:5). To understand fully the dynamics of this process, another factor must be brought in: the factor of hope. Faith and hope cannot be separated. Genuine faith in Christ implies a firm confidence that our future is secure (Heb. 11:1, Romans 15:13). This essential oneness of faith and hope helps us grasp why faith always “works through love.” The person who has confidence that God is working all things together for his good (Romans 8:28) can relax and entrust his life to a faithful Creator (1 Peter 4:19). He is free from anxiety and fear (1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:6). So he is not easily irritated (1 Corinthians 13:5). Rather, he is freed from self-justifying, self-protecting concerns and becomes a person who “looks to the interest of others” (Philippians 2:4). Being satisfied in God’s presence and promise, he is not bent on selfishly seeking his own pleasure, but rather delights “to please his neighbor for his good to edify him” (Romans 15:1, 2). In other words, having our hope pinned on the promises of God frees us from the attitudes that hinder self-giving love. Therefore, Paul said that if there were no Resurrection hope, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (1 Corinthians 15:32). If God has not satisfied our deep longing for life, then we may as well try to get as much earthly pleasure as possible, whether it is loving to others or not. But God has in fact given us a satisfying and confident hope as a basis for a life of love. Therefore in Colossians 1:4, 5, hope is the ground of love: “We always thank God … because we have heard of … the love which you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in Heaven.” Thus, we conclude that faith, when understood as a deep contentment in the promises of God, always works through love. Therefore, the way to become a loving person is to set our hope more fully on God and delight more fully n the confidence that whatever is encountered on the path of obedience is for our good. The love that is born of faith and the Spirit is especially manifest in the Christian home and in the community of believers. It transforms husband-wife relationships on the pattern of Christ’s love (Ephesians 5:25, 28, 33; Colossians 3:19; Titus 2:4). It is the fiber in the Christian community that “knits everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14; 2:2; Philippians 2:2; 1 Peter 3:8). It enables the members to “endure one another” in meekness and lowliness when wronged (Ephesians 4:2; 1 Corinthians 13:7). But more importantly it is the force behind positive deeds of spiritual edification (Romans 14:15; 1 Corinthians 8:1; Ephesians 4:16) and the meeting of material needs (Luke 10:27-37; Romans 12:13; Galatians 5:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8; Hebrews 13:1-3; James 1:27; 2:16; 1 Peter 4:9; 1 John 3:17, 18). Love is not to be—cannot be—restricted to friends. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44; Luke 6:27). This same

concern was carried into the early church in verses like Romans 12:14, 19-21; 1 Corinthians 4:12; Galatians 6:10; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 5:15; 1 Peter 3:9. The great desire of the Christian in doing good to his enemy and praying for him is that the enemy might cease to be an enemy and come to glorify God (1 Peter 2:12; 3:14-16; Titus 2:8, 10). Toward friend and foe, love is the attitude that governs the Christian in “all things” (1 Corinthians 16:14). It is the “most excellent way” of life (1 Corinthians 12:31). And since it does not wrong anyone, but seeks the good of all, it fulfills the whole law of God (Romans 13:19; Matthew 7:12, 22:40; Galatians 5:14; James 2:8; compare Romans 8:4 and Galatians 5:22). But it is not automatic; it can cool away (Matthew 22:12; Revelation 2:4). Therefore, Christians must make it their aim (1 Timothy 1:15) to “stir one another up to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). We must pray for God to cause our love to abound more and more (Philippians 1:9; 1 Thessalonians 3:12, 13). We must concentrate on the examples of love in Christ (John 13:34; 15:12, 17; Ephesians 5:2; 1 John 3:23; 2 John 5) and in his saints (1 Corinthians 4:12, 15-17; 1 Timothy 4:12; 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:10). In this way, we will make our call and election sure (2 Peter 1:7, 10) and bear a compelling witness in the world to the truth of the Christian faith (John 13:34, 35; 1 Peter 2:12).

Man’s Love for Things On the one hand, the New Testament teaches that the things God has created are good and should be enjoyed with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4:3; 6:17). But on the other hand, it warns against loving them in such a way that our affections are drawn away from God. The great danger is that the love of money (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:14; 1 Timothy 6:10; 2 Timothy 3:2; 2 Peter 2:15) and earthly pleasures (2 Timothy 3:4) and human acclaim (Matthew 6:5; 23:6; Luke 11:43; 3 John 9) will steal our hearts from God and make us insensitive to his higher purposes for us. John says, “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15-17). And James echoes this: “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity toward God” (James 4:4; cf. 2 Timothy 4:10)? The “world” is not any particular class of objects or people. It is anything which lays a claim on our affections to be loved other than for Jesus’ sake. Saint Augustine offered a prayer that catches the New Testament spirit on this issue: “He loves thee too little who loves anything together with thee which he loves not for thy sake.” John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including Reading the Bible Supernaturally.

Jack Zavada Updated March 31, 2017

Definition of Agape Love

Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. This Greek word, agápē, and variations of it are frequently found throughout the New Testament. Agape perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and for his followers. Agape is the term that defines God's immeasurable, incomparable love for humankind. It is his ongoing, outgoing, self-sacrificing concern for lost and fallen people. God gives this love without condition, unreservedly to those who are undeserving and inferior to himself. "Agape love, says Anders Nygren, is unmotivated in the sense that it is not contingent on any value or worth in the object of love. It is spontaneous and heedless, for it does not determine beforehand whether love will be effective or appropriate in any particular case." 1 A simple way to summarize agape is God's divine love. Another meaning of agape in the Bible was "love feast," a common meal in the early church expressing Christian brotherhood and fellowship: These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; (Jude 12, ESV)

Agape Love in the Bible For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, ESV) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35, ESV) Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. (John 14:21, NIV) I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. (John 17:23, ESV) Let all that you do be done in love. (1 Corinthians 16:14, ESV) By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (1 John 3:16, ESV) Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8, ESV) Pronunciation

uh-GAH-pay

Example Jesus lived out agape by sacrificing himself for the sins of the world. Eros, pronounced AIR-ose, love is the physical, sensual intimacy between a husband and wife. It expresses sexual, romantic attraction. Eros is also the name of the mythological Greek god of love, sexual desire, physical attraction, and physical love. Love has many meanings in English, but the ancient Greeks had four words to describe different forms of love precisely. Although eros does not appear in the New Testament, this Greek term for erotic love is portrayed in the Old Testament book, The Song of Solomon.

Eros Love in Marriage God is very clear in his Word that eros love is reserved for marriage. Sex outside of marriage is forbidden. God created humans male and female and instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden. Within marriage, sex is used for emotional and spiritual bonding and reproduction. The Apostle Paul noted that it is wise for people to marry to fulfill their godly desire for this type of love: Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. (1 Corinthians 7:8-9, NIV) Within the boundary of marriage, eros love is to be celebrated: Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (Hebrews 13:4, ESV) Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1 Corinthians 7:5, ESV) Eros love is part of God's design, a gift of his goodness for procreation and enjoyment. Sex as God intended it is a source of delight and a beautiful blessing to be shared between married couples: Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. (Proverbs 5:18–19, ESV) Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 9:9, ESV)

Eros love in the Bible affirms sexuality as a part of the human existence. We are sexual beings, called to honor God with our bodies: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:15–20, ESV)

Definition of Philia Philia means close friendship or brotherly love in Greek. It is one of the four types of love in the Bible. Philia conveys a strong feeling of attraction, with its antonym or opposite being phobia. It is the most general form of love in the Bible, encompassing love for fellow humans, care, respect, and compassion for people in need. The most common form of philia is friendship. Philia and other forms of this Greek noun are found throughout the New Testament. Christians are frequently exhorted to love their fellow Christians. Philadelphia (brotherly love) appears a handful of times, and philia (friendship) appears once in James:

Philia in the Bible Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Romans 12:10 ESV) Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another... (1 Thessalonians 4:9, ESV) Let brotherly love continue. (Hebrews 13:1, ESV) And godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. (2 Peter 1:7, ESV) Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart ... (1 Peter 1:22, ESV) Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. (1 Peter 3:8, ESV) You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4, ESV)

According to Strong's Concordance, the Greek verb philéō is closely related to the noun philia. It means "to show warm affection in intimate friendship." It is characterized by tender, heartfelt consideration and kinship. Both philia and phileo originate from the Greek term phílos, a noun meaning "beloved, dear ... a friend; someone dearly loved (prized) in a personal, intimate way; a trusted confidant, held dear in a close bond of personal affection." Philos expresses experience-based love.

Pronunciation: FILL-ee-uh

Related Words: Phileo; Philos

Example: Philia describes the benevolent, kindly love practiced by early Quakers. Storge is family love, the bond among mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, and brothers. The Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon defines storge as "cherishing one's kindred, especially parents or children; the mutual love of parents and children and wives and husbands; loving affection; prone to love; loving tenderly; chiefly of the reciprocal tenderness of parents and children."

Storge Love in the Bible In English, the word love has many meanings, but the ancient Greeks had four words to describe different forms of love precisely. As with eros, the exact Greek term storge does not appear in the Bible. However, the opposite form is used twice in the New Testament. Astorgos means "without love, devoid of affection, without affection to kindred, hard-hearted, unfeeling," and is found in the book of Romans and 2 Timothy. In Romans 1:31, unrighteous people are described as "foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless" (ESV). The Greek word translated "heartless" is astorgos. And in 2 Timothy 3:3, the disobedient generation living in the last days is marked as "heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good" (ESV). Again, "heartless" is translated astorgos. So, a lack of storge, the natural love among family members, is a sign of end times. A compound form of storge is found in Romans 12:10: "Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." (ESV) In this verse, the Greek word translated "love" is philostorgos, putting together philos and storge.

It means "loving dearly, being devoted, being very affectionate, loving in a way characteristic of the relationship between husband and wife, mother and child, father and son, etc." Many examples of family love are found in Scripture, such as the love and mutual protection among Noah and his wife, their sons and daughters-in-law in Genesis; the love of Jacob for his sons; and the strong love the sisters Martha and Mary in the gospels had for their brother Lazarus. The family was a vital part of ancient Jewish culture. In the Ten Commandments, God charges his people to: Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12, NIV) When we become followers of Jesus Christ, we enter into the family of God. Our lives are bound together by something stronger than physical ties—the bonds of the Spirit. We are related by something more powerful than human blood—the blood of Jesus Christ. God calls his family to love one another with the deep affection of storge love.

Pronunciation STOR-jay

Example Storge is the natural love and affection of a parent for their child.

Here's a little inspiration to tell your love how you really feel. Here's the thing about love: It's hard to put into words. Love brings up emotions that run the gamut from agony to ecstasy. Love can inspire us to accomplish some of the craziest and most amazing feats. Love can make you happier than you've ever been, sadder than you've ever been, angrier than you've ever been. It can elate you and deflate you almost at the same time. While we can all pretty much recognize the emotions associated with love, actually finding the words to explain those feelings is a pretty tough order. People have searched for centuries to find the right way to say "I love you" and to try to explain those butterflies in your stomach, that warm fuzzy feeling in your belly and that heart skipping a beat. One thing we DO know is that whether you've love and won — or loved and lost, it's ALWAYS worth it.

While there are plenty of non-verbal ways to express your love, finding that perfect love quote that sums up exactly what you're feeling can be pretty amazing. Luckily, some the world's greatest artists, poets, musicians and hopeless romantics (like ourselves) have managed to articulate the magic of love using words so simple and perfect, sharing them can mean the world. Here are 50 of the best love quotes you will find online, perfect for sharing with that special someone. We couldn't have put these inspirational phrases better ourselves. How love works ...

1. "The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That’s what I hope to give you forever." — The Notebook How love feels ...

2. "I look at you and see the rest of my life in front of my eyes." — (Unknown) It brings happiness ...

3. "The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves." — Victor Hugo What you learn from love ...

4. "All, everything that I understand, I only understand because I love." — Leo Tolstoy Where love is, God is ...

5. "And remember, as it was written, to love another person is to see the face of God." — Les Miserables Why love matters ...

6. "I'm much more me when I'm with you." — (Unknown) Why love hurts ...

7. "It's a very dangerous state. You are inclined to recklessness and kind of tune out the rest of your life and everything that's been important to you. It's actually not all that pleasurable. I don't know who the hell wants to get in a situation where you can't bear an hour without somebody's company." — Colin Firth

How love colors your world ... 8. "The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart." — Helen Keller RELATED: 16 Life-Changing Quotes From The Internet's Most Mysterious Poet Love is giving ... 9. "To love is nothing. To be loved is something. But to love and be loved, that’s everything." — T. Tolis Love is blind ...

10. "I saw that you were perfect, and so I loved you. Then I saw that you were not perfect and I loved you even more." — Angelita Lim Love is unselfish ...

11. "In order to be happy oneself it is necessary to make at least one other person happy." — Theodor Reik RELATED: 15 Happiness Quotes That Will Make Him Fall For You ALL OVER Again

When love takes over ...

12. "The heart wants what it wants. There's no logic to these things. You meet someone and you fall in love and that's that." — Woody Allen Love does not judge ...

13. "There's no substitute for a great love who says, 'No matter what's wrong with you, you're welcome at this table.'" — Tom Hanks RELATED: 10 Ways The RIGHT Person Will Love You Love grow and grows ...

14. "I swear I couldn't love you more than I do right now, and yet I know I will tomorrow." — Leo Christopher Love means togetherness ...

15. "If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you." — A. A. Milne RELATED: 11 Little Things Men Secretly ADORE About The Women They Love

When love is real ... 16. "You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not." ― Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper Love without end ...

17. "I would rather spend one lifetime with you, than face all the ages of this world alone." — Lord of The Rings Love is friendship ...

18. "You are my best friend, my human diary and my other half. You mean the world to me and I LOVE YOU." — (Unknown) Love is a teacher ... 19. "If I know what love is, it is because of you." — Herman Hesse

RELATED: 25 Quotes From Disney Movies That Will Totally Melt Your Heart Love is vulnerable ...

20. "Don’t forget I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."

— Anna (Julia Roberts) to William (Hugh Grant) in Notting Hill Love is a choice ...

21. "I choose you. And I'll choose you over and over and over. Without pause, without a doubt, in a heartbeat. I'll keep choosing you." — (Unknown) Love is complicated ...

22. "It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages." ― Friedrich Nietzsche Love is crazy, mad, wonderful ...

23. "When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."

— When Harry Met Sally RELATED: 23 Inspiring (And Hopeful!) Quotes About What Makes A Great Man How love is poetic ...

24. "At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet."

― Plato How you love like crazy ...

25. "I realized I was thinking of you, and I began to wonder how long you'd been on my mind. Then it occurred to me: Since I met you, you've never left."

— (Unknown) Why love hurts ...

26. "Pleasure of love lasts but a moment. Pain of love lasts a lifetime." — Bette Davis Love is strength ...

27. "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." — Lao-Tzu How love works ...

28. "Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop." — H. L. Mencken Love is life ...

29. "Thinking of you keeps me awake. Dreaming of you keeps me asleep. Being with you keeps me alive." — (Unknown) RELATED: 10 Quotes That NAIL What It REALLY Takes To Make True Love Last When love finds you ...

30. "We are shaped and fashioned by those we love." — Geothe Love is wild and crazy ...

31. "When love is not madness it is not love." ― Pedro Calderón de la Barca Love is magical ...

32. "You have bewitched me body and soul, and I love, I love, I LOVE YOU." — Pride & Prejudice What is love ...

33. "Love is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us. When we try to understand it, it leaves us feeling lost and confused." ― Paulo Coelho How love should be ...

34. "Love is so short, forgetting is so long." ― Pablo Neruda Love is freedom ... 35. "One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love." ― Sophocles

How love begins ...

36. "I wish I could turn back the clock. I'd find you sooner and love you longer." — (Unknown) Love is unselfish ... 37. "You know it's love when all you want is that person to be happy, even if you're not part of their happiness." — Julia Roberts Why love is important ...

38. "The greatest thing you'll ever learn Is to love and be loved in return." — "Unforgettable with Love" by Natalie Cole Love is the little things ...

39. "I hope you know that every time I tell you to get home safe, stay warm, have a good day, or sleep well what I am really saying is I love you. I love you so damn much that it is starting to steal other words' meanings. " — Open-365 RELATED: 50 Love Quotes Guaranteed To Make You FEEL Things Love brings joy ...

40. "I have decided to stick to love; hate is too great a burden to bear." — Martin Luther King, Jr. How love lasts ...

41. "You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear." — Oscar Wilde Love is worth it ... 42. "Better to have lost and loved than never to have loved at all." — Ernest Hemingway

RELATED: How It Feels When You're In LOVE, According To Your Zodiac Sign How love changes over time ...

43. "When I say I love you more, I don't mean I love you more than you love me. I mean I love you more than the bad days ahead of us, I love you more than any fight we will ever have. I love you more than the distance between us, I love you more than any obstacle that could try and come between us. I love you the most." — (Unknown) RELATED: How It Feels When You're In LOVE, According To Your Zodiac Sign

Love is silly ... 44. "All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." — Charles Schulz Where love lies ...

45. "Where there is love there is life."

— Mahatma Gandhi Love is unconditional ...

46. "I want you. All of you. Your flaws. Your mistakes. Your imperfections. I want you, and only you." — (Unknown) Love is give and take ... 47. "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make." — Paul McCartney Because love makes everything beautiful ...

48. "Because I could watch you for a single minute and find a thousand things that I love about you." — (Unknown) Love makes you lose your mind a little ...

49. "There is a madness in loving you, a lack of reason that makes it feel so flawless." — Leo Christopher Love is EVERYTHING ...

50. "All of me loves all of you." — John Legend, All of Me Anthropologist and YourTango Expert Helen Fisher has spent her career trying to understand it. Here's what she knows:

AMC Vote on best romantic movie of all time..

1 Gone With the Wind The Civil War pales next to the tempestuous love/hate/love union of Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh.

3980 9360 Vote UpVote Down

2 Casablanca In WWII-era Morocco, cynic Humphrey Bogart makes the ultimate sacrifice for ex Ingrid Bergman, helping her husband escape Nazis.

3370 7434 Vote UpVote Down

3 The Notebook An elderly man tells his Alzheimer's stricken wife the story of their courtship: The mystery is which of her two suitors he was.

3064 14336 Vote UpVote Down

4 Sense and Sensibility Self-sacrificing Emma Thompson must hide her true feelings for Hugh Grant for the sake of appearances and propriety.

2371 5299 Vote UpVote Down

5 Now, Voyager Wealthy spinster Bette Davis and miserably married Paul Henreid are transformed by love in unexpected ways.

2278 4686 Vote UpVote Down

6 Ninotchka Comrade Greta Garbo's communist ideals don't stand a chance against l'amour.

1654 4058 Vote UpVote Down

7 Breakfast at Tiffany’s Can struggling party girl Audrey Hepburn and young writer George Peppard afford the price of love in Manhattan?

1647 4417 Vote UpVote Down

8 Roman Holiday Stressed-out princess Audrey Hepburn takes a vacation from responsibility with reporter Gregory Peck.

1633 3989 Vote UpVote Down

9 Four Weddings and a Funeral The intertwined affairs, crushes and break ups of a close-knit group of friends play out against these titular events.

1518 4308 Vote UpVote Down

10 Titanic

Unhappy rich girl Kate Winslet and freespirited pauper Leonardo DiCaprio find a few moments of happiness aboard the doomed Titanic.

1509 11667 Vote UpVote Down

11 Love Actually The romantic mishaps of a cross-section of characters -- from besotted prime minister Hugh Grant to a druggy pop star.

1508 5612 Vote UpVote Down

12 Pride & Prejudice Keira Knightley is the spirited heroine of Jane Austen's story of love pitted against snobbery and willfulness.

1473 8397 Vote UpVote Down

13 An Affair to Remember Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr fall head over heads for each other. Problem is, they're both engaged to other people.

1211 4147 Vote UpVote Down

14 Wuthering Heights Love is the perfect storm that batters star-crossed Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier) and Cathy (Merle Oberon).

1180 3308 Vote UpVote Down

15

Love Story Romance blooms for Ryan O'Neal and fellow co-ed Ali MacGraw, until she dies from a fatal disease.

1070 3412 Vote UpVote Down

16 It Happened One Night Opposites attract in this classic rom-com about a cynical reporter (Clark Gable) and a mad-cap heiress (Claudette Colbert).

1067 3095 Vote UpVote Down

17 Doctor Zhivago Julie Christie and Omar Shariff are star-crossed lovers caught up in the Russian Revolution.

1062 3238 Vote UpVote Down

18 The English Patient Aristocrats Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas are ruined by their illicit affair, but their story heals other damaged hearts.

1022 3276 Vote UpVote Down

19 Out of Africa European expatriates Robert Redford and Meryl Streep find their passions in colonial Africa.

987 3057 Vote UpVote Down

20 Sleepless in Seattle Thanks to his young son and a radio call-in show, widowed romantic Tom Hanks finds love with reporter Meg Ryan.

985 9457 Vote UpVote Down

21 Romeo and Juliet Teens Romeo and Juliet love each other, but their warring families try to keep them apart.

937 4863 Vote UpVote Down

22 It’s a Wonderful Life Married love is the adventure of a lifetime for James Stewart and Donna Reed.

854 5974 Vote UpVote Down

23 You’ve Got Mail Struggling book seller Meg Ryan finds soulmate Tom Hanks online, unaware that he works for the megastore that's destroying her business.

779 8767 Vote UpVote Down

24 Annie Hall Woody Allen and Diane Keaton try to merge their neuroses in this NYC love story.

712 3148 Vote UpVote Down

25 Pretty Woman Workaholic businessman Richard Gere hires an escort -- Julia Roberts -- but finds the woman of his dreams.

420 7654 Vote UpVote Down

26 My Fair Lady Linguist Rex Harrison transforms guttersnipe Audrey Hepburn into a lady and falls in love with his creation.

347 3223 Vote UpVote Down

27 Dirty Dancing Snake-hipped dance instructor Patrick Swayze teaches sheltered teen Jennifer Grey some smooth moves.

281 7003 Vote UpVote Down

28 Singin’ in the Rain Boy (Gene Kelly) meets girl (Debbie Reynolds) in this classic musical about Hollywood romances, onscreen and off.

247 3275 Vote UpVote Down

29 The African Queen Prim missionary Katharine Hepburn and uncouth riverboat captain Humphrey Bogart find love while fighting Nazis.

190

2780 Vote UpVote Down

30 Bringing Up Baby Eccentric heiress Katharine Hepburn snares shy paleontologist Cary Grant, but it's not easy.

162 2166 Vote UpVote Down

31 Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy's liberal ideas are put to the test when their daughter wants to marry Sidney Poitier.

146 2310 Vote UpVote Down

32 West Side Story Romeo and Juliet become urban teens (Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer) caught between turf wars and racism in this musical heartbreaker.

116 3088 Vote UpVote Down

33 On Golden Pond Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda prove that love can last a lifetime.

20 2228 Vote UpVote Down

34 City Lights Life conspires against him, but Charlie Chaplin's little tramp still wins his true love.

7

2131 Vote UpVote Down

35 The Lady Eve Barbara Stanwyck makes smart sexy in this comedy about a con woman who can't grift her way out of love.

4 2084 Vote UpVote Down

36 The Princess Bride The romantic travails of princess Robin Wright provide both cynical laughs and happily-ever-after satisfaction.

-48 6276 Vote UpVote Down

37 Before Sunrise One night in Vienna, French student Julie Delpy steals American Ethan Hawkes's heart. Too bad he has to leave for home in the morning.

-67 2637 Vote UpVote Down

38 WALL-E A plucky little junker dares to woo the sleek, up-to-date model of his dreams in this tale of robot love.

-77 4397 Vote UpVote Down

39 Splendor in the Grass

Small-town teens Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty navigate the treacherous waters of Depression-era sex and love.

-165 1905 Vote UpVote Down

40 Slumdog Millionaire Poor but resourceful Jamal reaches out to his childhood sweetheart via a TV gameshow -- he just has to keep winning until she notices.

-183 3157 Vote UpVote Down

41 Moonstruck True love blindsides Italian-American accountant Cher the minute she gets engaged to her longtime boyfriend.

-265 2939 Vote UpVote Down

42 Ghost Patrick Swayze defies death itself to protect grieving girlfriend Demi Moore.

-288 5670 Vote UpVote Down

43 Sixteen Candles Awkward suburban teen Molly Ringwald lands her seemingly unattainable crush in this classic '80s comedy.

-332 4066 Vote UpVote Down

44

Bridget Jones’s Diary Smart, quirky, insecure Bridget (Renee Zellweger) braves the dating scene with a little help from her friends and lots of drinks.

-391 3913 Vote UpVote Down

45 Jerry Maguire Amoral, hotshot sports agent Tom Cruise falls for his down-to-earth assistant, single mom Renee Zellweger

-411 3237 Vote UpVote Down

46 How Stella Got Her Groove Back Brainy stockbroker Angela Bassett gets reaquainted with her inner hottie via an affair with the much younger Taye Diggs.

-431 2391 Vote UpVote Down

47 Lost in Translation Stranded in a Tokyo hotel, aging actor Bill Murray and lonely newlywed Scarlett Johansson form a chaste but intense bond.

-445 2411 Vote UpVote Down

48 When Harry Met Sally Convinced that love ruins friendships, pals Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal try not to fall for each other.

-598 6520 Vote UpVote Down

49 An Officer and a Gentleman The navy makes Richard Gere into an officer, but the love of good woman Debra Winger reveals his inner gentleman.

-1037 4347 Vote UpVote Down

50 Twilight It's tough being a sullen teenager in love, especially when the dreamboat is, like, 100 years older than you and undead.

101 Bible Verses about Love

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 | NIV | patience anger selfishness

Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14 | NIV | work

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Psalm 143:8 | NIV | trust planning

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:3-4 | NIV | reward heart valuable

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:14 | NIV | community blameless

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16 | NIV | trust God

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2 | NIV | humility patience

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19 | NIV | God

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 | NIV | faith hope

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8 | NIV | sin neighbor

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love. Ephesians 3:16-17 | NIV | faith Spirit

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Romans 12:9 | NIV | evil goodness

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2 | NIV | faith prophecy

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget,

I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49:15-16 | NIV | family children compassion

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:12 | NIV | law Jesus

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word. Ephesians 5:25-26 | NIV | purification relationships marriage

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 | NIV | neighbor

May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 | NIV | transformation following

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:12 | NIV | God

Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 1 John 4:20 | NIV | God family

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13 | NIV | sacrifice friendship

Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. Isaiah 43:4 | NIV | salvation encouragement valuable

However, as it is written: What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived — the things God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9 | NIV | reward

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8 | NIV | law debt

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1 | NIV | Father children world

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 | NIV | fear punishment

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 1 Thessalonians 3:12 | NIV | neighbor relationships

Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor. Proverbs 21:21 | NIV | righteousness life

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15 | NIV | truth Jesus

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. Proverbs 10:12 | NIV | anger evil

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 | NIV | mediator death angels

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Song of songs 8:6 | NIV | heart death

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8 | NIV | God

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:31 | NIV | law neighbor selfishness

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. Psalm 116:1-2 | NIV | worship listening

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 | NIV | God strength

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1 | NIV | speaking angels

For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5 | NIV | patience sadness

For, Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. 1 Peter 3:10-11 | NIV | peace life

No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:24 | NIV | selfishness neighbor

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 | NIV | reliability compassion

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 | NIV | faith life

For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 | NIV | self-control strength Spirit

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Psalm 103:8 | NIV | mercy patience

Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. Jude 1:2 | NIV | blessing peace

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:10 | NIV | sin Savior

Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. Leviticus 19:17-18 | NIV | gentleness anger

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10 | NIV | law neighbor

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44 | NIV | prayer persecution

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Romans 8:35 | NIV | suffering persecution

If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:3 | NIV | suffering giving pride

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 1 Timothy 6:11 | NIV | faith righteousness

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8 | NIV | worship prayer

And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:2 | NIV | sacrifice Jesus

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. Psalm 94:18 | NIV | reliability dependence

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Luke 10:27 | NIV | law obedience

For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 1 John 3:11 | NIV | law neighbor

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:1-2 | NIV | gentleness neighbor angels

Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them. John 14:21 | NIV | law Father

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11 | NIV | God community

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 | NIV | law Spirit blessing

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. Psalm 63:3-4 | NIV | life worship

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 1 John 4:9 | NIV | Jesus life world

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34 | NIV | law neighbor

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 1 John 2:15 | NIV | sin Father world

You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Psalm 86:5 | NIV | reliability forgiveness

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4-5 | NIV | mercy Jesus

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 | NIV | God calling

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 2 Peter 1:5-7 | NIV | faith goodness self-control

For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14 | NIV | law neighbor

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 2 Thessalonians 1:3 | NIV | faith gratitude

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Revelation 3:19 | NIV | life punishment conversion

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35 | NIV | evangelism following

Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14:23 | NIV | obedience Father

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Proverbs 3:11-12 | NIV | Father learning punishment

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13 | NIV | freedom humility desires

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. Psalm 103:13 | NIV | fear Father compassion

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:9 | NIV | law neighbor

If you love me, keep my commands. John 14:15 | NIV | law Jesus

The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

Psalm 33:5 | NIV | reliability righteousness

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 | NIV | law God

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4 | NIV | God nearness

“I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” John 17:26 | NIV | Jesus prayer

And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 1 John 4:21 | NIV | law friendship

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7 | NIV | neighbor friendship rebirth

For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 | NIV | life resurrection

It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them. Psalm 44:3 | NIV | strength dependence

Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Psalm 115:1 | NIV | humility worship

Praise the Lord. Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands. Psalm 112:1 | NIV | law awe

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37 | NIV | overcoming God

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16 | NIV | Jesus neighbor

Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. Psalm 40:11 | NIV | reliability protection mercy

If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. John 15:10 | NIV | law Jesus

Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:13 | NIV | heart mercy reliability

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:5 | NIV | hope heart Spirit

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6 | NIV | faith Jesus valuable

Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Corinthians 13:11 | NIV | life peace nearness

Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. Psalm 31:16 | NIV | blessing salvation

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 1 John 3:17 | NIV | money neighbor compassion

‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 19:18b-19 | NIV | law family reliability

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Jude 1:20-21 | NIV | faith Holy Spirit Jesus

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