, “celebrated” on a grand scale on February 14th. This “holiday” is strange not only because its attributes - bright pink hearts and flowers - for some reason turned out to be tied to the name of the martyr Valentine, beheaded by the pagans, but primarily because, supposedly glorifying love, it cultivates feelings that are very far from true love. Alas, modern people They often do not understand what love is and replace it with inflated emotions and lust. They even began to use love to justify sin, motivating its legalization same-sex marriage, euthanasia, abortion, etc.

So what is love? He tells us this through Holy Bible The Lord himself, called Love in it, as well as the fathers of the Church, ascetics and saints, who loved their neighbors experimentally, and not speculatively.

SACRED SCRIPTURE ABOUT LOVE

“Love is long-suffering, it is kind, love does not envy, love is not arrogant, is not proud, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails, although prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished” (1 Cor. 13: 4-8).

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, then I am a ringing gossamer or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that I could move mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing. And if I give away all my goods and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

“Let all things be done with you in love” (1 Cor. 16:14).

“Hate stirs up strife, but love covers all sins” (Prov. 10:12).

“You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” (Matt. 5:43-45).

“The first of all commandments: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength—this is the first commandment! The second is similar to it: love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12: 29-31).

“Above all, have fervent love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8).

“We know love in this, that He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16).

“Let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).

“Love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4: 7-8).

“The love of God for us was revealed in this, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that we might receive life through Him. This is love, that we did not love God, but He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because in fear there is torment. He who fears is not perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

“Love does not harm one’s neighbor; Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10).

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her” (Eph. 5:25).

“Above all, put on love, which is the sum of perfection” (Col. 3:14).

“The goal of exhortation is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and unfeigned faith” (1 Tim. 1:5).

“Greater love has no one than if someone lays down his soul (i.e., life - Ed.) his own for his friends” (John 15:13).

HOLY FATHERS ABOUT LOVE

“He who has love is far from all sin” ( Hieromartyr Polycarp of Smyrna).

“Love is the union of brotherhood, the foundation of the world, the strength and affirmation of unity, it is greater than faith and hope, it precedes charity and martyrdom, it will forever remain with us with God in the Kingdom of Heaven” ( Hieromartyr Cyprian of Carthage).

“What is characteristic of love for one's neighbor? Seek not your own benefits, but the mental and physical benefits of your loved one. He who loves his neighbor fulfills his love for God, because God transfers his mercy to Himself" ( Saint Basil the Great).

“Love has two remarkable properties: to grieve and suffer when a loved one suffers harm, and also to rejoice and work for its benefit” ( Saint Basil the Great)

“All the perfections that are contained in the concept of virtue grow from the root of love, so that he who has it does not lack in other virtues” ( Saint Gregory of Nyssa).

“Love does not consist in empty words and not in simple greetings, but in the appearance and doing of deeds, for example, in relieving poverty, helping the sick, freeing from danger, patronizing those in difficulty, weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice” ( Saint John Chrysostom).

“Carnal love is guilt, but spiritual love is praise; that one is the hateful passion of the soul, and this one is joy, joy and the best decoration of the soul; that one produces enmity in the minds of those who love, and this one destroys existing enmity and establishes great peace in those who love; there is no benefit from that, but there is still a great waste of money and some unreasonable expenses, a perversion of life, a complete disorder of houses, and from this there is a great wealth of righteous deeds, a great abundance of virtues" ( Saint John Chrysostom).

“Do not talk to me about vulgar and base love, which is more a disease than love, but understand the love that Paul demands, which aims at the benefit of those loved ones, and you will see that such people are more tender in the love of the fathers themselves... He who feels for another love will agree to endure thousands of misfortunes rather than see the one he loves suffer harm" ( Saint John Chrysostom).

“Love, which has Christ as its foundation, is firm, constant, invincible; Nothing can terminate it - neither slander, nor danger, nor death, nor anything else like that. He who loves in this way, even if he suffers a thousand defeats for his love, will not leave it. He who loves because he is loved, if trouble happens to him, will interrupt his love; and whoever is united by that love will never leave it" ( Saint John Chrysostom).

“Love is the root, source and mother of all good things. Every good deed is the fruit of love" ( Saint John Chrysostom).

“Love does not harm one’s neighbor; where love reigns, there is no Cain killing his brother" ( Saint John Chrysostom).

“He who loves does not understand appearance; love does not look at ugliness, that is why it is called love, because it often loves even ugliness" ( Saint John Chrysostom).

“Love represents your neighbor as yourself and teaches you to rejoice in his welfare as your own and to feel his misfortunes as your own. Love unites many into one body and makes their souls dwelling places of the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit of the world can dwell not in those separated from each other, but in those united in soul. Love makes the goods of each person common to all" ( Saint John Chrysostom).

“He who loves does not only desire to subjugate, but also to obey, and rejoices more in submitting than in ruling. A lover would rather do good than to receive good deeds, because he would rather have a friend as his debtor than to be in debt to him himself. A lover wants to do good to his beloved, but does not want his good deeds to be visible; he wants to be the first in good deeds, but does not want him to appear first in good deeds" ( Saint John Chrysostom).

“The work of love is to teach one another the fear of God” ( Reverend Ephraim Sirin).

“He who has love never disdains anyone, small and great, glorious and inglorious, poor and rich: on the contrary, he himself covers everything, endures everything (1 Cor. 13: 7). In whom there is love, he does not exalt himself before anyone, does not become arrogant, does not slander anyone, and turns away his ears from those who slander. In whom there is love, he does not flatter, does not kick his brother’s feet, does not compete, does not envy, does not rejoice at the fall of others, does not denigrate the fallen, but sympathizes with him and takes part in him, does not despise his neighbor in need, but stands up and is ready to die for him... In whom there is love, he never appropriates anything for himself... In whom there is love, he does not consider anyone a stranger to himself, but everyone is his own. In whom there is love, he is not irritated, is not proud, is not inflamed with anger, does not rejoice over untruth, does not fall into lies, and does not consider anyone his enemy except the devil. In whom love endures all things, he is merciful and long-suffering (1 Cor. 13:4-7)" ( Venerable Ephraim the Syrian).

“O immeasurable power of love! Neither in heaven nor on earth is there anything more precious than love. She, divine love, is the head of virtues; love is the cause of all good things, love is the salt of virtues, love is the end of the law... She brought down to us from heaven the Son of God. All good things have been revealed to us through love: death has been destroyed, hell has been captured, Adam has been called back; out of love, a single flock is made up of angels and humans; paradise is open to love, we are promised Heavenly Kingdom. She made the fishermen wise; she strengthened the martyrs; she converted deserts into hostels; she filled the mountains and dens with psalmody; she taught husbands and wives to walk the narrow and cramped path... O blessed love, giver of all blessings!” ( Venerable Ephraim the Syrian).

“Love does not seek what is useful to itself, but what is useful to many for their salvation” ( Venerable Ephraim the Syrian).

“Love actually has nothing except God, because God is love” ( Venerable Neil of Sinai).

“Love belongs exclusively to God and to those people who have restored in themselves the image and likeness of God” ( Venerable John Cassian).

“Love is evidenced by non-judgment of neighbors” ( Rev. Isaiah).

“No one has greater love than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. If someone hears an upsetting word and, instead of responding with a similar insult, overcomes himself and remains silent, or, being deceived, endures it and does not take revenge on the deceiver, then he will thereby lay down his life for his neighbor" ( Abba Pimen).

“Carnal love, not being bound by spiritual feeling, as soon as even an insignificant reason presents itself, it very easily evaporates. Spiritual love is not like that: but, although it happens to suffer some grief, in a God-loving soul, which is under the influence of God, the union of love is not interrupted" ( Blessed Diadochos of Photikie).

“If you hate some people, are indifferent to others, and love others very much, then conclude from this how far you are from perfect love, which encourages you to love every person equally” ( ).

“Perfect love does not divide one human nature according to the disposition of people, but loves all people equally. He loves the good as friends, and the unkind as enemies (according to the commandment), doing good to them and patiently enduring everything they cause, not only not repaying them with evil for evil, but even, if necessary, suffering for them, in order, if possible, to make them his friends. So our Lord and God Jesus Christ, showing His love for us, suffered for all humanity and gave the same hope of resurrection for everyone. However, each person makes himself worthy of either glory or hellish torment" ( Rev. Maxim Confessor).

“Love is a good disposition of the soul, according to which it does not prefer anything that exists to the knowledge of God” ( Venerable Maximus the Confessor).

“Many have said a lot about love, but you will find it only among the disciples of Christ” ( Venerable Maximus the Confessor).

“Love, aroused by something, is like a small lamp fed by oil, which maintains its light, or like a stream flooded with rain, the flow of which stops when the rainwater that composes it becomes impoverished. But love, which has God as its culprit, is the same as a spring gushing from the earth: its streams are never stopped (because God alone is the source of love), and what feeds this love does not become scarce" ( Venerable Isaac the Syrian).

“Do not exchange love for your neighbor for love for some thing, because by loving your neighbor, you acquire in yourself the One who is most precious in the world. Leave little to gain great; despise what is superfluous and worthless, in order to acquire what is of great value" ( Venerable Isaac the Syrian).

“It is not sadness for love to accept a heavy death for those who love” ( Venerable Isaac the Syrian).

“There is nothing greater and more perfect among virtues than love for one’s neighbor. Its sign is not only not to have the thing that another needs, but also to endure death for him with joy, according to the commandment of the Lord, and consider it his duty. Yes, and rightly so, for we must not only by the right of nature love our neighbor to death, but also for the sake of the Most Pure Blood of Christ, who commanded it, shed for us" ( Hieromartyr Peter of Damascus).

“What does it mean to love someone? It means wishing him well and doing it whenever possible" ( Saint Demetrius of Rostov).

“If someone came to me with questions: should I love someone? Should anything be done with love? - then I would not answer, but would hasten to retreat from the questioner: because such questions can only be proposed by one standing on the threshold of hell.” .

“Let us imagine love contained in a more or less close circle of kinship, acquaintance, reciprocity, and see what its dignity is. Do fathers and mothers need a feat to love their child? Does a baby need to learn to love his father and mother? If in this love everything is done by nature, without achievement and almost without the knowledge of man, then where is the dignity of virtue? This is simply a natural feeling, which we notice even in speechless people. Not loving parents or children is a deeply low vice, but love for parents and children is not yet a high virtue, except in special cases when it is elevated by the self-denial and self-sacrifice associated with it.” (Saint Philaret (Drozdov)).

“I understand only that love that acts according to the sacred commands of the Gospel, in its light, which itself is light. I don’t understand any other love, I don’t recognize it, I don’t accept it. Love, extolled by the world, recognized by people as their property, sealed by the fall, is not worthy to be called love: it is a distortion of love. That’s why it is so hostile to holy, true love... Love is light, blind love is not love.” .

“The Gospel rejects love that depends on the movement of the blood, on the feelings of the carnal heart. The Fall subjected the heart to the dominion of blood and, through blood, to the dominion of the ruler of the world. The Gospel frees the heart from this captivity, from this violence, and brings it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches us to love our neighbor holy. Love fueled by the Holy Spirit is fire. This fire extinguishes the fire of natural, carnal love, damaged by the Fall.” (Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)).

“In what ulcers is our natural love! What a serious ulcer on her - addiction! A heart possessed of partiality is capable of all injustice, all lawlessness, just to satisfy its painful love.” (Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)).

“Natural love delivers to its beloved only earthly things; it does not think about heavenly things. She is at enmity against heaven and the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit demands the crucifixion of the flesh. It is at enmity with heaven and the Holy Spirit, because it is under the control of the evil spirit, the unclean and lost spirit... He who has felt spiritual love will look with disgust at carnal love as an ugly distortion of love.” (Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)).

“Love for God has no measure, just as the beloved God has limits and restrictions. But love for neighbors has limits and limitations. If you do not keep it within proper limits, it can alienate you from the love of God, cause great harm, even destroy you. Truly, you must love your neighbor, but in such a way as not to harm your soul. Do everything simply and holy, have nothing in mind except pleasing God. And this will protect you in matters of love for your neighbors from any wrong steps" ( Venerable Nikodim Svyatogorets).

“Love is born from faith and fear of God, grows and is strengthened by hope, comes to perfection by goodness and mercy, which expresses the imitation of God” ( ).

“There is no higher virtue than love, and no worse vice and passion than hatred, which to those who do not pay attention seems unimportant, but in its spiritual significance is likened to murder (see: 1 John 3:15). Mercy and condescension towards others and forgiveness of their shortcomings is the shortest path to salvation" ( Venerable Ambrose of Optina).

“If you love someone, then you humble yourself before him. Where there is love, there is humility, and where there is anger, there is pride" ( Venerable Nikon of Optina).

“We must love everyone, because every person is the image of God, even if he, that is, the image of God, is contaminated in a person, he can be washed and be clean again” ( Venerable Nikon of Optina).

“Love, first of all, extends to self-sacrifice... The second sign of true love is that it is eternal, never stops... The third sign of true, heavenly love is that it excludes complete dislike for anyone, that is, it is impossible, for example, to love only one person , but no others. He who has holy love is completely filled with it. I can grieve, regret that such and such is full of passions, committed to evil, acts badly, but I cannot not love a person as God’s creation, and I must be ready to show love for him at any time. The fourth sign of true love is that this love is at the same time directed towards God and neighbors, being in such a connection that whoever loves God will certainly love his neighbor" ( Hieromartyr Arseny (Zhadanovsky)).

“If love is not in God and not from God, then it is only a sensual passion that people use like a drug in order to delight a life devoid of any meaning with this little nonsense” ( Saint Nicholas of Serbia).

“Love is joy, and the price of love is sacrifice. Love is life, and the price of love is death" ( Saint Nicholas of Serbia).

“Love is not just a feeling of the heart. Love is the queen of all feelings, noble and positive. Truly there is love shortest path to the Kingdom of Heaven. Love has destroyed the division between God and man" ( Saint Nicholas of Serbia).

“When the soul loves the body, it is not love, but desire, passion. When a soul loves a soul not in God, it is either delight or pity. When the soul in God loves the soul, regardless of appearance (beauty, ugliness), this is love. This is true love, my daughter. And in love there is life!” ( Saint Nicholas of Serbia)

“God gave people the word “love” so that they would use this word to describe their relationship with Him. When people, having abused this word, begin to call it their attitude towards earthly things, it loses its meaning" ( Saint Nicholas of Serbia).

“Love and lust are opposites of each other. Anyone who calls lust love is mistaken. For love is spiritual, pure and holy, but lust is bodily, unclean and unholy. Love is inseparable from truth, and lust is inseparable from illusion and lies. True love, as a rule, constantly increases in strength and inspiration, despite human old age; lust quickly passes, turns into disgust and often leads to despair" ( Saint Nicholas of Serbia).

“Love has nothing to do with adultery and fornication. They mock love" ( Saint Nicholas of Serbia).

“It is not difficult, not at all difficult, to love people who love us; It is not difficult, not at all difficult, to love your father, or mother, or wife, or your children. But is the price of this love high? Oh no, it has almost no value, because we love our loved ones, our children, according to the instinct of love, which is embedded in us by nature. What mother does not give all the affection, all the warmth of her heart to her child? Which one will not even give his life if he is threatened with death? This is, of course, good, but does it have the highest moral value? Oh no, it doesn't. We know that if we decide to destroy a bird’s nest, the mother of the chicks will fly in, hover over us, hit us in the face with her wings and squeak desperately... This is the same love, love by instinct, invested in every living creature. Don’t the she-bear and the she-wolf protect their cubs and go after a man who comes with a weapon?”

“What does it mean to truly love a person? Everything sublime is difficult to define logically. How can we say what the Christian life of love is if its strength is manifested most of all in patience? Where there is love, there is always trust, where there is love, there is always hope. Love endures everything because it is strong. True love is constant, does not dry out and never ceases. This hymn of love was first heard by the first apostles of Christianity.” (Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky)).

“It’s love! Neither faith, nor dogma, nor mysticism, nor asceticism, nor fasting, nor long prayers constitute the true appearance of a Christian. Everything loses its power if there is no main thing - love for a person. Even the most precious thing for a Christian is immortal life— is determined by whether a person loved people in his life as his brothers.” (Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky)).

“There is mutual love: the love of spouses, the love of parents for children, the love for people worthy of love. All love is blessed, and this love is blessed, but this is the initial, lower form of love, for from conjugal love, through learning in it, we must rise to a much higher love for all people, for all the unfortunate, for the suffering, and from it we must still rise to the third degree of love - Divine love, love for God Himself. You see, until people achieve love for everyone, Divine love, love only for loved ones has little meaning.” (Saint Luke (Voino-Yasenetsky)).

“The main duty of man is to love God and then his neighbor: every person and most of all his enemy. If we love God as we need to, then we will keep all His other commandments. But we love neither God nor our neighbors. Who is interested in another person today? Everyone is interested only in themselves, but not in others, and for this we will give an answer. God, Who is all Love, will not forgive us for this indifference towards our neighbors" ( ).

“A good Christian loves God first, and then man. Abundant love is poured out to both animals and nature. What we modern people are destroying environment, shows that we do not have an excess of love. Maybe we at least have love for God? Unfortunately no. Our life itself shows this" ( Venerable Paisius the Svyatogorets).

“Whoever works out of pure love for the sake of his neighbor, fatigue itself brings rest to him. The one who loves himself and is lazy becomes tired of his inaction. We must pay attention to what should motivate us to deeds of love, as the elder tells us. I must work for the sake of another out of pure love, and I have nothing more in mind. Many people show their love towards certain people and immediately make them subservient to them" ( Venerable Paisius the Svyatogorets).

“In love for our neighbor lies our great love for Christ. Hidden again in our reverence for the Mother of God and the saints is our great reverence for Christ. This preserves Christian love and is qualitatively different from the love of worldly people" ( Venerable Paisius the Svyatogorets).

“Love is visible when a person gives while he himself is in deprivation. When you meet someone in need, think: if Christ Himself were in the place of the beggar, what would you give Him? Of course, the best... The Lord says that by doing something to one of the unfortunate, you are thereby doing it to Me" ( Venerable Paisius the Svyatogorets).

“Just loving someone is not enough. You must love a person more than yourself. A mother loves her children more than herself. In order to feed the children, she remains hungry. However, the joy she experiences is greater than the joy her children experience. The kids feed carnally, but the mother feeds spiritually. They experience the sensual taste of food, while she rejoices in spiritual joy" ( Venerable Paisius the Svyatogorets).

“True love is not selfish. She has no selfish bias and is distinguished by prudence" ( Venerable Paisius the Svyatogorets).

“The willingness to drink the cup of another’s sorrow is love” ( Venerable Paisius the Svyatogorets).

“Question: How can I understand, Geronda, whether I have true love? Answer: To understand this, you need to test yourself to see whether you love all people equally and whether you consider everyone to be your best” ( Venerable Paisius the Svyatogorets).

“The secret of love for a person begins at the moment when we look at him without the desire to possess him, without the desire to rule over him, without the desire to take advantage of his gifts or his personality in any way - we just look and are amazed at the beauty that we opened" ( Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh).

“When we begin to lead a Christian life, all our work, all our feat is aimed at accepting even our enemies with love. This is the martyrdom of a Christian.” .

“We don’t think about how to change the world on our own. We seek to receive strength from God to act with love in all cases." (Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov)).

“Love for humanity is verbal fornication. Love for a specific person, on our path in life, given by God, is a practical matter, requiring work, effort, struggle with oneself, one’s laziness.” (Archimandrite John (Peasant)).

“If love is in the heart, then it is poured out from the heart on everyone around and manifests itself in pity for everyone, in patience with their shortcomings and sins, in non-judgment, in prayer for them, and when necessary, in material support” ( Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev)).

PROVERBS AND SAYINGS ABOUT LOVE

Advice and love - that's the light.

Where there is love, there is God. God is love.

The sweetest thing is who loves whom.

The mind is enlightened by truth, the heart is warmed by love.

Where there is advice (union, love), there is light.

You can’t hide love, fire and cough from people.

Love us in black, and in white, and everyone will love us.

To love a friend is to love yourself.

Love and remember.

Love is a ring, and a ring has no end.

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, let you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

For if you love those who love you, what will be your reward? Don't publicans do the same?

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles. Sol 24.17

Do not say: “As he did to me, so I will do to him; I will repay a man according to his deeds.”

Just as in water there is face to face, so a person’s heart is to man.

What you hate, don’t do to anyone.

Greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends.

But to you who hear, I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.

Love does not harm one's neighbor; So love is the fulfillment of the law.

Bless those who curse you and pray for those who abuse you.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said to him: You answered correctly; do this and you will live.

You have spoken the truth, that there is one and there is no other besides Him; and to love Him with all your heart and with all your mind, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is greater than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Love consists in our acting according to His commandments. This is the commandment which you heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.

He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no temptation in him.

You also love the stranger, for you yourself were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Love consists in our acting according to His commandments.

And those whom He predestined, those He also called, and those He called, them He also justified; and those whom he justified, he also glorified.

Who will accuse God's elect? justifies them.

Most of all, have fervent love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.

And if I give away all my property and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good.

Love never ceases, although prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but love is the greatest of them all.

Let everything you do be done with love.

For hardly anyone will die for the righteous; maybe someone will decide to die for a benefactor .

Above all, put on love, which is the sum of perfection.

Love is patient, merciful, love does not envy, love is not arrogant, is not proud, is not rude, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything.

Better is a dish of greens, and with it love, than a fattened bull, and with it, hatred.

"...love covers all sins" (Prov. 10:12)

“...and his banner over me is love” (Song of Songs 2:4)

"...for love is strong as death; jealousy is as fierce as hell; its arrows are arrows of fire; it is a very strong flame. Big waters they cannot extinguish love, and the rivers will not flood it. If anyone were to give all the wealth of his house for love, he would be rejected with contempt." (Song of Songs 8:6-7)

“Above all, have fervent love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Pet. 4:8)

“In this we know love, that He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” (1 John 3:16)

"... because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, because God is love. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because in fear there is torment. He who fears is not perfect in love" (1 John 4:7-8,18)

“Now this is love, that we walk according to His commandments” (2 John 6)

“Let love be unfeigned...” (Rom. 12:9)

“Love does no harm to one’s neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” Rom. 13:10)

"...love edifies" (1 Cor. 8:1)

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, then I am a ringing brass or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that I can move mountains, and not If I have love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good.” (1 Cor. 13:1-3)

“Love is long-suffering, kind, love does not envy, love does not boast, is not proud, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; it bears all things, it believes all things, it hopes all things, it endures all things. "Love never ceases, although prophecies will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished." (1 Cor. 13:4-8)

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13)

“The fruit of the Spirit is love...” (Gal. 5:22)

“Above all else put on love, which is the sum of perfection” (Col. 3:14)

“May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ” (2 Thess. 3:5)

“The goal of exhortation is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and unfeigned faith” (1 Tim. 1:5)

"...you have left your first love" (Rev. 2:4)

“Let everything you do be done with love” (1 Cor. 16:14)

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another” (John 13:34)

"...love one another continually with a sincere heart" (1 Peter 1:22)

“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her” (Eph. 5:25; Col. 3:19)

“You have heard that it was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He commands His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have?” (Matt. 43:46)

"...to love Him with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your soul and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12:33)

“... let us love not in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18)

1 Corinthians 13 is one of the most famous passages on the topic of love. Let's read verses 4-8a:

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a
“Love is long-suffering, it is kind, love does not envy, love is not arrogant, is not proud, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…"

One of the many features of love that I would like to focus on here is that love does not “think” evil. The word “thinks” in this passage is a translation of the Greek verb “logizo,” which means “to count, calculate, calculate.” So, love does not count, does not count evil. This is love without regard for possible personal gain.

I think this kind of love is implied by the words of our Lord in Matthew 5:38-42:

Matthew 5:38-42
“You have heard that it was said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you: do not resist evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him; and whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your outer clothing too; and whoever forces you to go one mile with him, go with him two miles.

Give to the one who asks from you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

Only that love that does not count evil can serve the words of the Lord above. And such is the love of God as He showed it to us:
Romans 5:6-8

“For Christ, while we were yet weak, at the appointed time died for the ungodly. For hardly anyone will die for the righteous; maybe someone will decide to die for a benefactor. BUT GOD PROVES HIS LOVE FOR US IN THAT CHRIST DIED FOR US WHEN WE WERE STILL SINNERS.” AND
“God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him, and seated us in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

The love of God is manifested not only in the fact that He gave His Son, but also in the fact that He gave Him to sinners, dead in trespasses and sins! And such love is an example for us:

1 John 4:10-11
“This is love, that we did not love God, but He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved! If God loved us so much, then we should love each other.”

Gospel of John 15:12-13
“This is My commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

1 John 3:16
“We know love in this, that He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.”

God's love did not count our evil. It did not count that we were dead in crimes and sins. God gave His Son not for the sake of the righteous, but for the sake of sinners:

1 Timothy 1:15
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

Luke 5:32
“I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Christ washed the feet not only of the obedient disciples, but also of the disobedient ones. This is real love God. The love discussed in 1 Corinthians 13 is not about loving only those who love you and those who you think “deserve” your love. But to love those who do not love you and those from whom you have nothing to expect, and even those who have harmed you:

Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard that it was said: Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

Perhaps many times we have read these lines and perhaps many times we have thought that they are difficult to use. But love is not something that comes directly from us. We can do nothing on our own (Gospel of John 5:30). On the contrary, love is a FRUIT - something that is given by the NEW NATURE.

When we submit to the Lord, when we allow Christ to dwell in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17), the new nature bears its fruit in the same way as an ordinary tree: i.e. NATURALLY.
Galatians 5:22-23

“The FRUIT of the Spirit is: LOVE, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. There is no law against them."

Notes

See: E.W. Bullinger "A Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament", Zondervan Publishing House, page 628 In russian language

very diverse and rich, unfortunately, there is only one single word that denotes the relationship that often arises between a man and a woman - the word “Love”. « And, unfortunately, the Russian word

Love” it somehow lost its original value and became worn out from dirty use. This word today is used to describe everything from the purest relationship between husband and wife filled with the holy presence of God, to the lowest, bestial, sexual claims. In the Greek language there are several words meaning relationships, corresponding to the Russian word “Love”. These are the words -Eros, Filio, Agape,…

Storje

We will only focus on a few. Eros

- means erotic love and is used only in this sense. Filio

- means good friendly relations that are maintained between friends. Agape

- means sublime, sacrificial, divine love.

Love in our perverted world is often built on hot feelings and sinful desires; it can be called rather erotic love. It is based on “the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh” - that is, base human desires. And it is clear that “love”, which originates from lust, is not durable and not reliable; such love is selfish. She is used to pleasing herself or her beloved. She never sacrifices or shares anything, she is used to taking, stealing and leaving.

“Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and Amnon the son of David fell in love with her. And he grieved to the point that he became ill because of his sister Tamar; for she was a maiden, and it seemed difficult to Amnon to do anything with her. But Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of Samai, a very cunning man. He said to him: Why are you growing so thin, son of kings, will you tell me?

And Amnon said to him: Tamar, the sister of Absalom my brother, I love. And Jonadab said to him, Lie down in your bed and pretend to be sick; and when your father comes to visit you, say to him: Let my sister Tamar come and refresh me with food, preparing food before my eyes, so that I may eat from her hand.

And Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick, and the king came to visit him; and Amnon said to the king, Let my sister Tamar come and bake a cake, and I will eat from her hand. And David sent to Tamar's house, saying, Go to the house of Amnon your brother, and prepare food for him. And she went to the house of her brother Amnon; and she took flour and kneaded it, made and baked cakes, and took a frying pan and laid it out before him; but he didn't want to eat. And Amnon said: Tamar: Take the food into the inner room, and I will eat from your hand.

And Tamar took the cakes which she had prepared, and carried them to her brother Amnon into the inner room. And when she set it before him so that he could eat, he grabbed her and said to her: Come, lie with me, my sister.

But she said: No, my brother, do not dishonor me, for this is not done in Israel; don't do this crazy thing. And I, where will I go with my dishonor? And you, you will be one of the madmen in Israel. You talk to the king; he will not refuse to give me to you.

But he did not want to listen to her words, and overcame her, and raped her, and lay with her. Then Amnon hated her with the greatest hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was stronger than love what he had for her; and Amnon said to her, Get up and go away.

And Tamar said, “No, to drive me away is a greater evil than the first thing that you did to me.” But he didn't want to listen to her. And he called his servant, who served him, and said, Drive her away from me and lock the door behind her.”

This is how ardent and passionate love often ends, which later served as the reason for the murder of Amnon.

This kind of love is often demanded by force “Why don’t you love me?” Or they take it without asking at all, as in the case described above.

This is selfish love she does not take into account anyone or anything, she sees only herself. She is capable of trampling another person, destroying him as a person, just to satisfy her sexual desires.

I love you, and therefore you must belong to me, at any cost. Speaking of price, selfish love never pays, it does not know how to pay and often believes that the whole world was created only to please it.

I won't give you away- she declares, as if feelings can be chained or put behind bars. Yes, she doesn’t need feelings, she needs a body in order to please herself, even if it brings pain and suffering to others. Such love often resorts to crimes; a person, wanting to possess the object of his selfish desires, is ready for any cruel acts and even murder. This kind of love cripples families, hurts souls, leaves children orphaned, and causes pain and suffering to many people.

I love you, she declares, and that’s why I want so that you do my laundry, cook, iron, wash the floors, give birth to children, and so on... This is scary, if such love forms the basis of family relationships.

True love she says: I love you and therefore I am ready to take care of you, help, please you with good deeds, protect you, protect you from evil, I am ready to devote all of myself to you without a trace. I am ready to always be with you, in joys and in troubles, on sunny and stormy days. I love you and am ready to die for your happiness.

This is Agape love - beautiful, pure, sacrificial and sublime love! She comes only to those who are pure in heart, who have prepared themselves to meet her, who can appreciate, accept, and accommodate her!

Such Love is like a holiday how the blessing of heaven descends into our lives and fills it with peace, joy and love. A man filled with Agape love – happy man! He is pure in heart, pious and content with everything. He loves and does not demand anything in return, he gives everything, sacrifices everything, rejoices in everything. He is ready to embrace the whole world!

The Apostle Paul described this love very accurately in 1 Epistle. Corinthians 13“If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but do not have love, then I am a ringing gossamer or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that I could move mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing.

And if I give away all my property and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good.

Love is patient, merciful, love does not envy, love is not arrogant, is not proud, is not rude, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; covers all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends" be.

Friends, true love is always patient, never envious, never arrogant or proud. She never acts outrageously, does not seek her own and does not think evil. She is merciful, covers everything, believes everything, endures everything. It never ceases to be, because « God is Love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” (1 John 4:16)

True love is ready to sacrifice. John 15:13 says: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" This is what our Savior Jesus taught to His disciples, and this is what He did, ascending to the cross and accepting mortal torment for our sins.

And today we say: make your peace with the Lord "make peace with Love" for He is “Love” itself, protecting us from the power of evil. Make peace with Love, and it will change you, fill your heart with wonderful light and heavenly beauty. You will experience Eternity, your eyes will open, wings will appear, you will begin to fly and will never want to come down to earth again.

When we abide in love, we abide in God. We are ready to sing hymns of Love, praise the Lord, ready to embrace the whole world and rejoice in every drop of rain and sunbeam.

A loving person is a believer, since Love “is the totality of perfection.” Col. 3:14 Living in love means living in faith. The world, hardened by evil and disfigured by sin, does not believe in love. And when you tell a person: "God loves you!" He asks in surprise: Why do you love me?

Yes! We are used to loving for something...

The girl because she is slim, beautiful, wears a white dress with blue polka dots...

A friend for being sociable, cheerful and with money...

We always love for something. Ask the groom why he loves his bride, and he will quite seriously list all her advantages and even her father’s fat wallet. We are used to loving for something, no one ever taught us to love for nothing!

We love the mountains, we love the sea, we love autumn and spring simply because they are in our lives and our eyes see them!

So, is it really that we cannot love man, the highest creation of God, only because he is Man, created in the image and likeness of God? God wants to teach us to love in a new way, unselfishly and with all our hearts!

God's love is Agape love, it does not set any conditions, does not demand anything in return, does not pursue low goals.

This is the love of a free soul. She does not exalt herself, is not proud, does not seek her own.

She does not expect reciprocal feelings. She loves because she wants to love! She is free like a bird!

Even if she is hated and persecuted, she is able to give warmth and peace. Capable of giving, donating, capable of feeding, warming, clothing, protecting. She is able to stand up and cover the unfortunate person with herself in case of danger.

1 John 3:16 written: “We know love in this, that He laid down His life for us.” And the Lord calls us: “Let us love My children not in word and tongue, but in deed and truth.”

Agape love is perfect in nature and does not need feelings. In the evening I love you, but in the morning I hate you.

Love Agape - this is a person’s victory over himself, victory over sin and over the world and evil.

This is the kind of love Jesus gives, this kind of love can only be learned from Him. He teaches us to love, starting with our neighbors by saying: “Love your neighbor as yourself...” Matt. 22:39.

And even enemies: “And I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unjust” Matt. 5:44-46.

God's love gives wings. Let the whole world hate us and we love because God gave us this love.

Today they say that there is no love, love has died, the world is overwhelmed by evil and cruelty . It is not true! Over the course of these 20 centuries, Love was killed, crucified on crosses, languished in prisons, burned at the stake, but Love survived, Love won!

The Father of Love and God of Mercy, who gave us life, lives! The world is created with His love, mountains stand with His love, forests grow, and the seas have not yet overflowed their shores. This love washes over us every morning, His mercy is renewed every day. Love gives us the strength to live and win, brings peace and joy to our home.

But the most beautiful love is mutual love.

And the Lord asks you today, my friend: Do you love me - Peter, Nikolai, Bakhyt, Franz, John?

Do you love me - Masha, Vera, Aigerim, Angel, Ann?

And you must answer not with words, but with your whole pure and holy life.

And I want to say with all my heart: Yes, I love you Jesus and I want to devote my whole life to You. Take my life from my hands as a fragrant sacrifice, it is Yours, My Wonderful Savior!

What do you say, my friend?

Have you ever thought about Eternity and the great love of God that the world has rejected?

Do you want this love?

Are you calling Her into your life?