What is Love?

It's February -- the month of love. Everyone agrees that it is important to love others, but the problem is that many people are confused as to what love is.  The Biblical word for God's kind of love is "agape".  It's the kind of love that God has for us and that He commands us to have for each other.   One of the best ways to grasp the meaning of agape love is to start with what it is not.

Here are ten things that agape love is NOT:

1. Agape love is not the same as liking someone.  You can love someone without like them.  

2. Agape love is not the same as approving of someone's behavior.  You can love someone and hate their sin at the same time.

3. Agape love is not the same as being a doormat.  You can love someone and tell them "No" at the same time.  Love is not a pushover; it has boundaries.  

4. Agape love is not the same as being "in love."  Being in love is the feeling you experience when you find someone romantically irresistible.  Agape love is not dependent upon feelings.

5. Agape love is not the same as agreeing with someone.  You can disagree with someone's views and still love them as a person.

6. Agape love not conditional.  It is not based on how the other person treats you, or upon your feelings about them, or upon an anticipated reward from them.  

7. Agape love is not giving someone what they want.  It is giving them what they need, and people don't always want that.

8. Agape love is not making people feel good.  It is doing what is best for people, and sometimes that's painful.  

9. Agape love is not partial.  It loves everyone, even enemies.  

10. Agape love is not sinful.  Love for others never requires that we violate the will of God.

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