Needless to say, we humans think a lot about love. Unfortunately, this allows opportunity for bad opinions and incorrect teachings. As a Christian, I want my view of love to be influenced by God's love, not others around me. This is really hard. And if you're not a Christian, this is even harder to understand. Here's some lies that I have been taught:
1. Love is a feeling. 2. Loving is easy. 3. Love is something I create within me.
To counteract the first two lies, I think it's best to first answer the third. Love originated in God. If we believe God is the Creator of the world, then we must believe it was His love that was instilled in us. Genesis 2 tells us we are made in HIS image. That's an awesome truth! The only way we can love others is by accessing the love God has given us.
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8
Anything other than godly love is no love at all! When we forget that dedicated love stems from God, lust, passion, and greed are mistaken for love.
1 John 3:11-12 says, "For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous."
When we have relationships with others to see what we can gain, they will always fail. If we only interact with others to see how we compare, we will fail. Worldly "love" is no different. If I serve you for what I can get in return, "love" will fail. If I "love" you because of how I compare to you, "love" will fail. Lust and selfishness are not characteristics of love.
In order to love others, it is imperative to realize love originated in God.
"We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19
