Defining What It Means to Love You
Do We Really Love Each Other? – Part 1
What is love?
In this next lesson, we will need the answers you’ve written down for this question. What is love? What does love mean to you? So often we use this term, but it means different things for every person. Love is complex and many believe they have an understanding of it and the truth is most have their own gender biases when it comes to love. [Just thought I’d throw that in for good measure.] That being the case, we must become diverse in love if we plan on having a marriage that works. Therefore we need to get a better understanding of what love is. For the content you’re now about to read, you will find out that love is a very complex emotion (for my lack of a better term), feeling, action, and person.
Allow me to give you a brief overview of the three components that make up “Do We Really Love Each Other?”
- Part 1 – Love is Not A One-Way Street
If you haven’t read the book, Love and Respect, you probably should. It’s one of the best books and resources available on relationships. I Like it because it supports a Biblical principle that explains one of the most important lessons to ensure that a marriage will be successful. We will speak to this key point of the book to explain how love differs for men and women. Now, I use the title “Love is Not a One-Way Street” simply to express the idea that each person in the relationship is not satisfied or fulfilled in the same manner or method. Just because you experience love one way does not mean your significant other feels it the same way. Love is not a one-way street; it’s a two-way highway.When asked what’s the key ingredient to a perfect bond, a couple’s response is always “love.” Not so, you can name more marriages and relationships of people who said they loved each other that ended in divorce or separation than those that remain together. If love, the way we commonly know it, was the answer then we’d have very few marital issues. What if I were to tell you that love, the way we know it, is only 50% of what’s needed? This would spark you to think a little differently wouldn’t it? Sounds like we’d need to get a better understanding of this word, L O V E. Stay tuned.
- Part 2 – Five Ways Love Is Communicated
In order to communicate successfully with another, one would have to be very versed in the language of the person in which one was speaking. Love is no different. In order to communicate in love, one must know the language of love to do so. Did you know that she has a love-language? And did you know he has a love-language? As a person of faith, I’m fond of this phrase we so often hear, “speak the truth in love.”[1] How does one speak anything in love if they don’t know love’s language? How does a person begin to speak or communicate in love? We have come across five ways to communicate love to another from a book called “The Five Love Languages.” It’s the five communication methods used to convey love that gives voice to your significant other to hear properly that you love her or him. - Part 3 – The 16 Outcomes of Love
If someone were to ask you the outcomes that follow when someone loves, what would you say they are? In other words, what can you expect love to produce in your life? If someone says they love you then you should expect them to produce one or more of the 16 outcomes that I’ve written on in a series of messages called “The 16 Levels of Love.” Not only that if someone doesn’t produce one or more of these outcomes provided as a result of love, you may then conclude that that person does not love you. You will discover that more times than not, one’s actions are displaying “I don’t love you” even though the person is saying with their lips that “I love you.” You’re going to want to see these 16 outcomes of love.
If you’re in a relationship, serious relationship or marriage, I bet I have your attention now. This is one of our favorite lessons because of what it does for a couple. It gives them insight into the world of love they never knew existed, and we want to do the same for you. Over the next few installments we will break apart these three topics mentioned above, so that we can answer the question “what is love?”
Question: what is your definition of this four letter word: L O V E?
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Find out more about the Family plan here.[/su_note]Reference #1: Ephesians 4:15 NLT, Bible.com, accessed August 16, 2021, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/EPH.4.15.NLT
All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights.
