What is charity? Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. Jesus makes charity the new commandment, the fullness of the law. “It is the bond of perfection” (Colossians 3:14) and the foundation of the other virtues to which it gives life, inspiration, and order. Without charity “I am nothing” and “I gain nothing (1Corinthians 13:1-3) 
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) Love is a complex set of emotions, behaviors, and beliefs associated with strong feelings of affection, protectiveness, warmth, and respect for another person. Love is one of the most profound emotions we experience as humans. The ancient Greeks used seven words to define the different states of love we can experience:
- Storage: natural affection
- Philia: friendship
- Eros: sexual and erotica
- Agape: unconditional, divine love
- Ludus: flirting
- Pragma: committed, married love
- Philautia: self-love
Though there are many different kinds of love to experience, the romantic and affectionate expression of love is what, on some level, we are all seeking. The reason being that the majority of us find fulfillment through the comfort of a deeply committed and romantic relationship. So, what exactly defines love? From a scientific point of view, love is a powerful and permanent neurological condition. Love is chemistry and it’s not something you can necessarily control. There is lust and there is love. Lust is a temporary desire fueled by an increased release of testosterone and estrogen–it lasts for a little bit, then you normalize and it’s gone. Then, there is true love – True love, the brain can release a whole set of chemicals, allowing you to experience it in different expressions. It is hard to actually define love as one thing.
We can feel love for our significant others, our parents, friends, children, and pets. Some of us direct our love toward God or celebrities, and we can hold love for our neighbors, country, and objects. Love can be blind, misguided, tragic, unconditional, steadfast and inconsistent. It takes on many different variants, yet, at its best, love is a passionate commitment that we constantly work to develop and nurture. Once we take out the aspect of commitment, it becomes an infatuation. Infatuation is not really good love because we often let our obsession become the root of the relationship. It is focusing more on the idea of being in love or the idea of the relationship than the actual relationship itself.
Lastly, when all is said and done, love is also about compatibility. When you share the same values, likes, and dislikes, interests, political or philosophical views with someone you are much more likely to be compatible and more likely to fall in love. Although they say that “opposite attracts” but there will always need to be some common grounds for the relationship to grow roots on or it might fall into one of the other categories of love. Love and compatibility work together to build a relationship. Self-sacrifice for the other is also extreme importance for those in love. It means the willing of the good of the other.
‘There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)
This is by far, my most favorite verse from the Bible:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hope, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
The more that I grow in my relationship with God, the more His love compels everything that I do, say, and desire. When God had every right to turn His back on me, He showed me the greatest love I have ever experienced. His love has changed me in the best ways possible, and I pray I spend the rest of my life growing to know His love even more and sharing His love with others.
We live in a world of fakes that will try to take the place of true, holy, and pure biblical love, but all will fail in comparison. Once you have seen what is true, you will immediately know what is fake. For this reason, as believers, it should be our goal to know God’s love more, every single day.
As we do, we will quickly learn these seven characteristics of God’s love (Storage, Philia, Eros, Agape, Ludus, Pragma, Philautia) are so beautiful.