This was originally posted on the girls only forum on mypraize but I thought that it would be helpful for you all to see and comment:

Lately, many girls I have seen have been saying that they are "in love", that they "love a guy", etc...I think what we need to discuss is: What is love? There are so many things that are used these days to describe love...many of them are not correct. To make this easier, let's start with what love is NOT.

Love is NOT:

• Feeling safe with someone.
  

• Being friends with someone.
  

• Thinking that a guy is cute.
  

• Thinking that a guy thinks you're cute.
  

• The way you feel with "your crush"
  

• The way you feel when you kiss your boyfriend.
  

• The way you feel when you read a romance novel.
  

• A warm, fuzzy feeling.
  

• Etc....(feel free to add)
  

The things above describe many other things, such as lust, feelings of security, friendship, loyalty, etc.

Love IS:

• Willingness to sacrifice for someone else (i.e. Jesus' death on the cross)
  

• Forgiveness and mercy towards another person.
  

• SelfLESS; not wanting anything in return.
  

• A choice. You must choose whether you love someone...it isn't just something you feel.
  

• Unconditional.
  

• Forever (thanks, Aav_jewel)
  

• A verb. It requires action (artbox_masterpiece)
  

• A reflection. We love because He first loved us. (ditto)
  

• Constant. It doesn't go up and down. (ditto)
  

• Etc...(feel free to add).
  

Do you agree? Do you disagree? What do you think? Isn't this something that many people need to know?

Some of this information was gathered during a conversation with my youth minister and it was on my heart to share it with you.  

--Last edited by khakigirl on 2007-05-16 13:40:17 --

Oops, I think I need to fix all the html tags.