Christian Love?

[Ian Gentles]

What is christian love? Is it a perfection of love? 1 Corinthians 13:3 "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor. and though I give my body to be burnt, but have not love, it profits me nothing." So someone gives everything they have, (most wouldent do this), to feed the poor. If I am willing to be burnt to death for my faith (what it seems to say here), their nothing without love. These two types seem to be full of love, one giving all they have, the other willing to die. So where are they short of love? What is this love? Have we today got this love?

[Paul DeBaufer]

Motivation. One could give it all up for others, yet be doing it for themselves, for their own feelings of doing good or for show to look good to the world. This would not be love, it would be egocentricity. Luke 6:35 tells us to do and expect nothing in return. We don't expect people to change, we don't expect to be repaid, we don't expect honor, we don't even expect paradise. Then the Kingdom will be ours.

What has helped me has been Tom Oord's books The Nature of Love and Defining Love. His blog is helpful too.

[David Graham]

Christian love, I believe is the love that we receive from God and return back to him and others. This love is received through an encounter with God by the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

It is more than an emotional feeling and should find its perfect expression when we offer it in tangible ways to those who don't deserve it. e.g. To the stranger and the persecutor.

Such love should IMHO be mostly revealed by its fruits of patience, tolerance, forgiveness, selflessness, peace, grace, gentleness and joy etc. in our relationships both within the body of Christ and the world. In such ways God mostly relates to us; we therefore must do likewise.

But at times, this love should be fierce in defence of the victims of injustice and those who are oppressed. This love should also be bold in proclaiming truth; particularly the truth of the gospel, and should motivate its proclamation without fear or compromise.

[Ian Gentles]

Here the apostle says "I" meaning himself. So first I see this as a christian speaking, a person of faith. Of course as christians in the "I" we must include ourselfs. That to love is a christian command is without doubt. We as christians, hopefully, seek to love all, even our enemies, this is commanded. So we have a christian who gives his all to help the poor. This is quite sensational, as I know very few christians who would do this. We have a christian willing to die a horrific death for his faith, again few of us, if we are honest, would embrace such a death. Yet its possible for this person not to have love?
My tiny mind boggles here, how can such a person be devoide of "love"? Surely love has to be behind such selfless acts? Its a big stretch to say someone would do such acts for selfish, self-centred, reasons.
Surely we wouldent doubt such persons had love? So what is this "love" that is missing?

[Jim Chabot]

Here the apostle says "I" meaning himself. So first I see this as a christian speaking, a person of faith. Of course as christians in the "I" we must include ourselfs. That to love is a christian command is without doubt. We as christians, hopefully, seek to love all, even our enemies, this is commanded. So we have a christian who gives his all to help the poor. This is quite sensational, as I know very few christians who would do this. We have a christian willing to die a horrific death for his faith, again few of us, if we are honest, would embrace such a death. Yet its possible for this person not to have love?
My tiny mind boggles here, how can such a person be devoide of "love"? Surely love has to be behind such selfless acts? Its a big stretch to say someone would do such acts for selfish, self-centred, reasons.
Surely we wouldent doubt such persons had love? So what is this "love" that is missing?

I'm not surprised at all by Paul's statements. The acts themselves tell us nothing of love, many would give all to the poor just so that others would revere them. Some would surely die for their faith if they were boxed into a corner with no way to save face, and yet love is not evident, while stupidity reigns supreme.

I'm rarely swayed by tales of how much someone is "sacrificing," I've found way too often that it is a sham, or sadly that while it may be true, the person has little capacity for love. While at the same time I know folks who are incredibly loving and you never hear of them performing these great feats. (then again, Matthew 6 tells us that we should do what we can to avoid notice when we give.)

[Ian Gentles]

I'm not surprised at all by Paul's statements. The acts themselves tell us nothing of love, many would give all to the poor just so that others would revere them. Some would surely die for their faith if they were boxed into a corner with no way to save face, and yet love is not evident, while stupidity reigns supreme.

I'm rarely swayed by tales of how much someone is "sacrificing," I've found way too often that it is a sham, or sadly that while it may be true, the person has little capacity for love. While at the same time I know folks who are incredibly loving and you never hear of them performing these great feats. (then again, Matthew 6 tells us that we should do what we can to avoid notice when we give.)

I totaly agree about tales of what people sacrifice being, mostly, a sham. Christianity, in the west, is mainly middle class, simply because most keep their money for themselfs.

[Paul DeBaufer]

Here is the review I wrote of Tom's book The Nature of Love

[Ian Gentles]

Here is the review I wrote of Tom's book The Nature of Love

This is truely an excellent article.
I agree "Love" isnt foremost in christian theology. I beleive most christians are confused as to how to "love" in a biblical sense. I think we play at "love" a lot of the time, and maybe if we understood the true demands of christian love we would have cold feet? It often seems we are no better than the world when it comes to love. So I am amazed that the sacrifices mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13 can be without love as their motivation.