Love - What Is It?

I'm going to ask you a difficult question. What is love? I'm very interested in your ideas.

Yes, love is when you like someone a lot. Love is when you care for someone so much you want to make sure they have what they need. You want to keep them from harm.

Perhaps it would help to think about whom you love. You love your parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, your pet, friends and other family members, right?

Then there are things we say we love like ice cream, a teddy bear or a special blanket. We say we love to do certain things such as dancing, reading, playing ball, digging in the dirt, running or going to the park.

There are lots of people we love and many things we love to do. Love is a very deep feeling that is hard to describe, but we know when we feel it, don't we?

Jesus was asked a question and his answer had to do with love. The question was: "Which commandment is the greatest of all?" (12:28).

The Bible teaches us about many things we should and should not do. These are called commandments. Jesus answers the question by saying the first commandment is that "you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (12:30).

What do you think this means?  We are to love God first and above all. We are to love God with all that we are and with all our strength. This is the first and most important commandment.