10 Questions About Love

Published on March 26, 2010 by CT in Blog, Questions

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My wife and I are part of this great community group in Nova through our church.  Tomorrow night, we’ll be facilitating the group’s study and discussion of 1 Corinthians 13–the famous love chapter in the Bible.  I’ve posed the following questions to the group.  But then I remembered this whole online thing is about community in a different way, so I thought I’d pose these to you as well.

If you will, pick a question, ask God for guidance, and give us your best answer!

  1. What is a Biblical definition of love?
  2. What is important about the Bible saying “God is love?”
  3. Is it our job to love others, or is it the Spirit’s job to others through us?  Or neither, or both?
  4. Is it loving to think of others as more important than us, or as important than us?
  5. Why does God go to such lengths to define the attributes of love?
  6. What’s the significance of the similarities between the characteristics of love in 1 Cor 13 and the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23?
  7. Is there a difference in how men and women should respond to the command: “Love one another”?  Or does obedience in this way look the same regardless of gender?
  8. What does this verse mean:  “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)?
  9. Why is love the “greatest of these” (1 Cor 13:13)?
  10. Is it possible to overemphasize love?  If so, how?
  • http://mizzandan.blogspot.com/ Dan

    1-Do not judge others, leave that to God. Be selfless always.
    2-It shows us that God is the most powerful force in the universe. It also shows us that we can interject the name of God for the word Love in 1 Cor. 13
    3-I think both. I think the Spirit enables us to love, because without the spirit I think it would be impossible to love the way we are supposed to.
    4-Yes definitely.
    5-Because in a sense he is truly defining himself to us.
    6-I believe the significance is that they are all birthed out of the attributes of love and thus being birthed directly out of God himself. When we live a life with love/God at the center, all of these characteristics will flow out from us.
    7-I think it looks the same way regardless, because we are all spiritual being first. Although the way we go about "loving" may be different in action.
    8- I think this goes with my answers for 3 and 6. The only way that we are able to love the way God wants us to love, is if he empowers or enables us to do so. God living and loving through us, because he first loved us. By loving us first he "shows" us how to love in return.
    9-Because without Love/God the other two would not be possible. There would be nothing to hope for OR have faith in.
    10-In a spiritual sense no. In a "physical smothering old lady christianese false sense of love way" – YES
    My recent post Easter Book Conversation

  • http://intensedebate.com/profiles/melmollner melmollner

    Thanks for the questions. I needed to think on these. In the midst of tons of unanswered questions- these in addition to them, I must rest in this promise of God: Love never fails. Every other gift will pass away. But the gift of 100% whole love (something my heart yearns after daily) will be the gift we receive when we are with Him in glory- the only thing in this life worth fighting for is love. 1 John 4:8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

    My favorite part of 1 Corinthians 13
    8Love (God) never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

    13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

  • HET

    Here are just a couple of responses – nothing new but still feels in my Spirit to be truth.

    Question 1: The Biblical definition is what is found in the Love chapter of I Cor 13… "patient, kind, not jealous or boastful or proud or rude, does not demand its own way, not irritable, keeps no record of when it has been wronged, never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out, never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful through every circumstance, will last forever."

    It would be a wonderful way to start each day alone or together with our spouse/family to have this as a devotional in order to refresh our memory of loving each other.

    Question 3: I think it is both – when circumstances are going well or to our liking, then we can easily practice the above definitions of love but when circumstances are more challengin, then we can plead with the Holy Spirit to love through us and then we are better able to demonstrate the traits of love. But, I have had many occasions when the Holy Spirit has actually changed ME to love – it isn't just a demonstration of the acts of love but is also the true renewal to love without forcing the behavior .