What Is LLOVE?
After yesterday, having had two discussions about the meaning of “love,” I found it necessary to explain again why Lloveletters and the word “llove” are spelled with two “L’s.”
I am unalterably convinced that somewhere beyond “a few” and “99.657 percent” of all the people in the World have a skewed understanding, or a total misunderstanding of the meaning of the word (agape). . .as used in Scripture. I will explain (briefly) again, using yesterday’s two discussions, how that misunderstanding works in a person’s life. Please NOTE the use of “love” and “llove” in the explanation.
One discussion regarded a man who made a statement akin to this: “Because ‘God is llove,’ and I love my husband, it follows that nothing is amiss in our relationship. If I love someone, I am being like God.” The problem here lies in the fact that what that man is experiencing, feeling, thinking, and perceiving, etc., is not llove at all, rather this World’s concept of “love” with all of its failures, fractures, and falsehoods – falling in and out, coming and going, up and down – is in no minuscule way similar to God. Any activity, action, belief, practice, thought or behavior that is antithetical to God’s revealed Word is not llove, but an imitation of mankind that we call “love.”
The second discussion was in Bible Study at our Church. A couple of people thought that we ought to “llove everybody,” just like God. Unfortunately we can’t. Llove is “something we do” not “something we have.” It is a discipline that presents and practices the characteristics of God. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 provides a capsule version of the practices of llove. We (Believers) cannot carry out those practices with people that we do not know, have no relationship with, or with whom we spend no time, e.g. the unreached people groups in foreign countries. But, the people said, “we give money to Missions because we llove the people who need to hear the Gospel.” Perhaps we should use a much better word – compassion – in this matter. We really do care if people have an opportunity to hear the Gospel, and we can support that occurrence through all kinds of Mission endeavors – Individual Missionaries, Cooperative Missions organizations, and businessmen like Gideons International, and others who share the Gospel around the World. Our feelings may be strong, but we must use the right words – because “words mean things.”
Llove is definable. It is the very nature of God, who is absolute Righteousness. When we fall short of obedience to His design and will, we are not lloving as God lloves. It is unlikely that we will llove perfectly, but empowered by His Spirit, we can llove well.
And finally, doesn’t God llove everybody? Yes. But He is God, and we are not. He has a relationship with every human being because He created each, we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). That is why He sent His own Son to redeem us all from the curse of sin and death. Oh, that we could llove like that!!