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What Is This Thing Called Love?
by: Gener Marcelo
 
The Bible defines LOVE according to 1 Cor. 13:1-13) as;
1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.
11 When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

But still what is Love?

I love one particular scene in the movie, “Crocodile Dundee.” A folk hero from the outback country of Australia, Crocodile Dundee visits New York City for the first time. While accompanied by a female newspaper writer, he finds himself cornered by a gang of young thugs. When Dundee does not immediately produce his wallet, one young hoodlum pulls out a switchblade and threatens Crocodile Dundee. Nonplused by such aggression, Crocodile simply reaches behind his back with the words, “That’s not a knife,” suddenly producing the largest knife I have ever seen, “This is a knife!” Quickly disarmed, the hoodlums run for their lives. As I read the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, I see Paul somewhat like Crocodile Dundee. His words seem to say, “That’s not love … this is love!”

Love is not only a Matter of Feeling but a Decision

I find it difficult, if not impossible, to believe that Love is not only a feeling but also a matter of decision until my wife and I attended a Marriage Encounter Seminar. The speaker told us that when your marriage life comes into a stage of disillusion, which I would say is the break-even point of your relationship, loving your spouse would no longer be a matter of feelings but also a decision whether to continue loving your spouse despite the odds on hand. Of course not all couples realized this but successful couple chooses to fall in love again with the same person they promised to be with for the rest of their lives during their marriage vows. Difficult to do? I bet it is but looking back how Chapter 1 of the Corinthians defines Love. As what Crocodile Dundee words seem to say, “That’s not love…this is love1”.

Love is also to sacrifice for your loved ones

My wife, Jembie asked me how I define Love (they just had a prayer meeting with some Marriage Encountered couples where the topic discussed was all about couple relationship, love and other sort of things), I told her one simple definition as the way how I look at the meaning of love in my own experience, Love is sacrifice. Being in a far away land with peculiar culture like Saudi Arabia, away from your family, your loved ones, totally out from your comfort zone hoping that you can provide something better for your family is big sacrifice. No matter how hard it could be I choose it because I love my family and I will do anything to give them nothing but the best, and that is a decision made.

So the next time you feel that you are falling out of love, try reading the gospel of Paul to the Corinthians and ask your self, “Is this love or what?”.


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