February is the month most often associated with love. We start seeing cupids and hearts in the stores and begin thinking of what to give the one we love. Valentines become available in January for sending to loved ones in February. This is a good month to think about what real love is.

There are three kinds of love.
• Eros - This is erotic love. It is the first stage of a romantic relationship. It can be felt when you don't even know the person who is the object of this love. It is a physical love centered on self.
• Philos - This love is based on a friendship between two people. It is based on give and take. It is a mental love that is still centered on self but also the other person.
• Agape - This is totally selfless love. It is love given without expectation of receiving any benefit in return. It has no conditions and benefits the one who is loved not the one who loves. This is Spiritual love.

(Please be aware that the following bulleted comments are not bible verses. Each is the promise and encouragement that I receive from studying the indicated passage.)

God is love

• God demonstrated His agape love. Even though we were of no use to Him - we had no value to the Creator of the universe - He sent His Son to die as a sacrifice for our guilt. I have never deserved God's love but He loved me anyway. Romans 5:8
  
  
• God responds to those who love Him. He promises that if we look for Him we will find Him. God let Himself be found by me even when I didn't know what I was looking for. He knew what I needed and what my soul was longing for. Proverbs 8:17
  
  
• Jesus loves me in the same way that God the Father loves Him. He wants me to feel secure in that love. When I obey Jesus, just as Jesus obeyed His Father, I remain feeling at home within His love. Jesus told us this so that we will be filled with joy. This is joy that Jesus gives and joy that is not dependent on our circumstances. It is joy that bubbles up inside of us no matter what happens. Jesus wants me to love others in the same way He loved me. He laid down His life - died for me. At the very least, I can put myself out or allow myself to be uncomfortable, for someone else. John 15:9-13
  
  
• God is love. I know about God's love and I believe in how much God loves me. The Bible says that when I live in this love, I live in God and God lives in me. This is hard to understand but I have seen the results. I have seen the ability to love others grow in me. Because I love God, I can love other people. I love because God loved me first. 1 John 4:16,19
  
  
• I show that I have love for Jesus by obeying Him. Since I love Jesus, I am loved by God the Father. Jesus promises that He loves me and is making it possible for me to know Him as He really is. John 14:21
  
  
• Not much in this world lasts, but three things do - faith, hope and love. Faith is confidence and trust in God. Hope is joyful expectation of eternal salvation - expectation of a permanent home in heaven. Love is true affection for God and for others - affection that grows out of God's love for me. Three things last, faith, hope and love. The greatest of these three things is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
  
  
  
• I am certain that nothing will ever tear me away from God's love. Nothing in this life or the next, nothing seen or unseen, not even my own fears or worries, absolutely nothing can separate me from God's love. That means that nothing, not even the powers of hell, will ever win out over God's love. It isn't because of my strength or anything that I do, but because of Jesus Christ who calls me His own. Romans 8:38-39

Entertaining reading in a three book series.