What then is love? Over the years, society has pondered this question only to arrive to different answers. Who then deserves to be love? Some people love only those who are easy to love. Others, love people who they know will reciprocate their love. According Eagle Vision Ministry, there are different kinds of love: Storge love (love of a parent to child), Eros love (physical love), Phileo love (friendship love), and Agape love (God’s love). Agape love is a unique love that has nothing to do with emotional attachments. It is the kind of love that only God can place in the heart of an individual. It is the kind of love that permits a person to love their enemies. It is the kind of love that permits a person to do good to those who have harmed a person. It is the kind of love that permits a person to pray for those who are undeserving of his/her prayers. God’s shows Agape love because his love is unconditional; the Hebrew word “hesed” best describes the type of love of God has for people (4). One must understand God in order to reach love. In 1Corinthians 13:13, the bible says, “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.” (NRSV) So what does God’s word has to say concerning the subject of love? In Matthew 22:34-40 the bible says, “When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which commandment in the laws is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two comm...
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...bor. It is easier said than done, but people have to put aside their differences and help each other through life. I believe that God does not just mean on a local scale, but on a global scale that people should help their fellow man.
As one can see, God’s two greatest commandments are found in Matthew 22:34-40, and they are very powerful and meaningful. When the lawyer confronted Jesus with the question of the greatest commandment He did not hesitate to tell the lawyer that the greatest commandments revolved around love. Not just regular love, but agape love, which is a type of love that God shows to individuals. This type of love is an unconditional type love that is shown to people even when things are not good. When Jesus was on the earth he expected people to cherish and obey these commandments in hope of one day entering the kingdom of heaven.
The First Commandment. The first commandment is Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Deuteronomy 7:9 This verse is found in the Old Testament, basically what it is saying is as long as you follow the word of the Lord and keep his commandments you will be eternally loved by God. This is not saying if you sin, that you will not be loved and forever punished, this is also not saying sin all the time and I will forgive you anyways. What the Lord is saying here is follow me, try your best to keep my commandments, he is saying he is faithful he will not stray from you and will be with you always. Another great verse in the Old Testament that supports God’s love for us is “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” Psalm 37:4. This is one of my favorite verses. The verse is saying to love the Lord, your God and father with all your heart and he will give you what you need and want in life. Not everything is a piece of cake and many people seem to think that if they believe in the Lord for a day, they will have everything. All of their illnesses will go away, they will instantly have love and money, or whatever they want. This is not how the Lord works, you need to delight yourself in him, constantly thank him for what you have and the Lord granting you another day to live. Sometimes we think that we have it so rough, but other people may have a harder or more
Love, if he loves, must be to him the heaven where either he must leave or bear no life.
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." [Matthew 22:37-40, AV]
Everyone always looks at the Bible as a loving book. It is considered God’s Word. It helps us live a better life and serves as a guidebook showing us how to live on the right path. The characters in it are ones to be looked up to. Moses, Noah, Abraham, etc. were all righteous followers of God and set good examples for us even today. However, those who read deeper into the Bible will find more than just the stereotype that I have already explained. The God of the Bible has many moods. The Bible has stories of murder, warfare, etc. in which the ones doing the acts are treated as good people that have done heroic deeds. What are we supposed to make of these situations? Can they still have good values and be applied to our daily lives to hopefully improve them? Let us take some examples from the Bible and examine them, while keeping the previous questions in mind.
Love is arguably the most powerful emotion possessed by mankind; it is the impalpable bond that allows individuals to connect and understand one another. Pure love is directly related to divinity. Without love, happiness and prosperity become unreachable goals. An individual that possesses all the desired superficial objects in the world stands alone without the presence of love. For centuries love has been marveled by all that dare encounter it. Countless books and poems have been transcribed to explain the phenomenon of love, but love surpasses all intellectual explanations and discussions. Love is not a definition, but rather a thought, an idea. This idea, the idea of love, burns inside us all. Instinctually, every soul on Earth is
“Adam’s Curse” is a poem by William Butler Yeats that was written at a time when his first true love, Maud Gonne, had married Major John MacBride. This may have caused Yeats much pain and Yeats may have felt as cursed as Adam felt when God had punished man from the Garden of Eden. This poem, in fact, symbolizes his pain and loss of love that he once had and is a recollection of his memories during happier times with Maud.
In Christianity, the emphasis is placed on love of God rather than on obeying his will. People must believe that God is merciful and loves them as well. As a reflection of God’s love, people must also love other people (and the whole humanity in general) and forgive their enemies. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus endorses agape, or selfless love (in contrast to eros, or possessive love), which consists of dedication to another person’s good, even at the expense of our own good and happiness. People should practice peace and nonviolence, return good for evil and love for suffering (“turn the other cheek”).
Gilgamesh is an epic of great love, followed by lingering grief that causes a significant change in character. It is the story of a person who is feared and honored, a person who loves and hates, a person who wins and loses and a person who lives life. Gilgamesh's journey is larger than life, yet ends so commonly with death. Through Gilgamesh, the fate of mankind is revealed, and the inevitable factor of change is expressed.
This love is an unpretentious and genuine love directed towards each other as kindred spirits. It is not focused on kinsman from the same country, same city, or the same town. It is not bound for those of the same religious beliefs, ethnic groups, or cultural groups. Rather, it sees the differences and reinforces it with love. The apostle Paul exemplified it by saying: Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” It is a love that is defined as a part of the household that is intrinsically in the Body of Christ. Frequently, when I am in church on in communication with people of faith, saying I love you, is an expression of that Philia
In Sappho's poems, she does not take on a typical point of view of love as she describes the allure and agony through her own experience. This alternative approach to love is shown in Sappho's poems 16 as she makes a connection between her own life and the emotions behind the Trojan war. Also, in 31 she describes a physical pain that opens up her life to the audience through her experience with jealousy. Another link between author and audience is seen in poem 94 as Sappho tells a story of her heartbreak. Then in Sappho's fragments 48 and 51, there are short personal phrases, allowing the readers to fill in the rest with their thoughts. It is with Sappho's first-person perspective that she creates an intimate connection with the audience
3:17) We are taught to help the poor so that they can continue to live
The Greatest Commandment “to love God” is the first and greatest commandment of all. In researching this commandment I have found that to love God is truly what God really wants from all of us. The commandment is referenced in all four of the gospels of the New Testament as well as being referenced in the Old Testament through the Ten Commandments in which the New Testament was based on. This commandment is so powerful it is found in Luke 10:25-37, Mark 12:28-34, John 13:34-35 and Matthew 22:34-40. It is also found in Deuteronomy 6:5 and also based on the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17. Take for instance the gospel of Matthew in where the New Testament begins with the book of Matthew revealing the fulfillment of the prophecies in Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. Matthew was a Jewish tax collector for the Roman government who was called upon by Jesus to become one of the 12 apostles which often in his gospel will give us an eye witness account. Matthew wrote the gospel while living in Antioch, Syria after following Jesus between the years of A.D. 50-70. Matthews’s gospel provides an essential link between the Old and New Testament. Matthew 22:34-40 teaches us of the greatest commandment and what God wants from us foremost. In the scripture of Matthew 22:34-40 where this commandment is told by Jesus to the religious leaders, the Sadducees and the Pharisees who were attacking him and challenging him with one of the Pharisees in particular who was a lawyer decided to test Jesus in hopes of embarrassing him by asking: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” (NIV, Matthew 22:36) Knowing that this was a difficult question because of the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament in which all are from ...
What is love? Love is a very special and meaningful word to each human being. Each human being has his/her own thoughts about love to guide himself/herself to land safely and smoothly into the kingdom of Love. Without this preconceived idea of love, people would be acting like a blind person searching for the light with thousand of obstacles in front of him.
”(Brundidge-Fuller 49). By following these commandments, the appreciation of the covenant with God is shown. Since everyone is made in God’s image and likeness, that means his actions should be emulated through everyone. In all decisions, God will make sure that everything he does is done the right way, if others are hurt or mistreated in the process then a good outcome means nothing.... ...