What is Love: Romantic Love

What is love? No, I'm not talking about an 80's pop song. I'm talking about love; real, honest-to-goodness, unconditional love. Do we even know what that means? And if not, how would we know whether or not we've ever experienced it?

Some synonyms for unconditional are unreserved, unlimited, and unquestioning. How many of us can say that we love in that way; without reservations, limitations, or questions?

As far as I can tell, there are four main types of love that we experience in our lives: romantic love, familial love, relational love, and love of things. There are probably a lot more types of love than this, but I think these are the ones that we all can relate to and understand. The "What is Love?" series of posts will focus on each of these aspects of love and how it relates to God's love for us.

First up is romantic love. Can we experience unconditional love in romantic relationships? Absolutely, but how likely is it to find it or feel it there? It definitely depends on the person, but I think as a culture that we have strayed further and further from unconditional love in our romantic relationships.

More and more in our country, people bounce from one relationship to the next like they're on a merry-go-round where they get their thrill and hop off only to get straight back in line for another go. 

But that is not what God wants for us. God's intention for us is to find and fall in love with a person that we would do anything for and that we would never let go of, no matter the circumstances. He doesn't care whether or not we marry or who we love because His desire has always been for us to have a love that we would readily die for, without reservation, without limitation, and without question.

After all, that's how Jesus loves us. His willingness to love us unconditionally was not only described to us, it was shown in its full, horrifically wonderful glory when he died on the cross. He sacrificed his life without reservation, without limitation, and without question.

In other words, Jesus didn't just say he loved us and go on about his business. He said, "Greater love has no man than this, than that he should lay down his life for his friends*," then he walked down to the cross and put his money where his mouth was.

How many of us can say that we would do the same for our romantic partner? And even if we can say that we would, if faced with the opportunity to prove it, would we be able to? Or would our love of life and things and other people get in the way?

*John 15:13