Today, reply is made to share points useful for defining “love”. Where “godly love” is “love made in the image of divine love” or “love formed and shaped after the pattern of divine love,” what we must say to capture and correctly characterize “love” has to go beyond carnal exchange, romantic fantasy, economic transactions, and mere sexual and social intercourse. With divinity, love begun is love everlasting and unending. Divine love endures despite breakdowns in communication, errors, interruptions, mistakes, and separation. To be in continuous relationship with divinity one must respond to standards for meaning, quality, and value that will be balanced, immutable, and incorruptible. Thus, divine love is seen more an aspect of duration, existence, and the fullness of divinity, than an expression of covetousness, desire, and passion. One of the fighters at “Yahoo! Answers” using the ID “Anonymous” (no profile information provided) posted the following:
How would you define godly love?
What would you expect from a God of love? What would you expect him to show you and others in regards to mercy and love?
THE GOLDEN ARROW: They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. (1st John 5-16, King James Version, KJV)
THE DOUBLE DAGGER: Hardened Minds and Hearts? (07/28/2017); The Practice of Love (07/27/2017); No Fear In Love? (05/17/2017); The Extravagance of Love? (04/02/2017); The Quality of Life? (03/29/2017); Saying “GOD is Love” (12/18/2016); Herein Is True Love (10/21/2016)
“Anonymous”, here are some points you may find useful:
(1) Among mature Christian believers it is understood that “love” (we also say, lovingkindness) is another of the many inseparable aspects of sacred substance imparted to mankind from the makeup of divinity. In order to exist, created beings and living creatures all must receive deposits and endowments of spirit matter from GOD (we say, breath, life essence, word). More than this, to be in continuing relationship with the Creator as sons and daughters, joint-heirs with Christ, and the offspring of GOD through Jesus Christ, the living must receive adoption, anointing, or rebirth whereby the believer becomes a new creation. Thus, the imparted Spirit includes faith, forbearance, holiness, longsuffering, meekness, righteousness, wisdom, and wrath against sin.
(2) Where “love” is correctly understood to mean more than “affection”, “attraction”, “feelings” and “infatuation”, the question, “What?” is to be answered beginning with “accountability”, goes on “commitment”, to “dutifulness”, to “fidelity”, to “trust” and “truth”. The goal and objective of adult “love” is rarely self-fulfillment and self-satisfaction; and there can be no “selfish love.” The operation of love appears as bonding and joining (we say, displaying oneness without sameness).
(3) Being a GOD of judgment also, the Creator demonstrates love by using divine law and the operations of judgment. Far from being lust and romantic love, attention to detail, impartiality, mercy, patience, righteousness and thoroughness all appear as aspects of the fullness of love. For believers, the expression of godly love is most correctly recognized and responded to by applying “discernment” (i.e., using ones own spirit content from the makeup of GOD as a standard to examine and acknowledge divine spirit appearing within events, oneself, other persons, the holy writings, etc.). Other practices and standards from GOD also make visible and reveal godly love, for example, parental discipline, fellowship within the community of faith, holy matrimony, the bestowal of divine gifts, the keeping of promises, and prayer.
There is far more to be said, correctly examined, and spiritually apprehended. Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful. Be it unto you according to your faith.
THE BLACK PHOENIX
Washington, DC
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