For a better part of my life, if you ask me what the meaning of love is, I had no answer. This is despite the fact that I have been taught all my life to love my neighbor as myself.
It is like everyone was too busy teaching me who to love, that no one remembered to teach me what it means to love.

In my late teens, I was caught up in this thought so I resolved to get a meaningful definition. True enough, there is a biblical and dictionary definition, but is that what we are to go with?
After reading and thinking extensively, I came up with multiple definitions of the different dimensions and levels of love. It was a real eye-opener.

Armed with this knowledge, I decided to comb through every meaningful relationship in my life, as far back as I can remember, and see where I was truly loving and in love.
You can imagine my shock when I recognized a five-year-old me in love. Like love – love.
Maybe you should do the same.

Revisit your childhood memories with your present knowledge. Take a look at your closest friends and the people you can remember. How many of those relationships were love-fueled?
Now revisit relationships from your youthful and adult days. Do you realize that a couple of them were actually not love?

Lust, opportunity, proximity, boredom, material gain, and many other reasons have prompted us into relationships.
There are others we get into because of our ego, showmanship, and pride. If you take an honest look at all of the affairs you’ve been involved in, you should be able to tell which category each relationship falls into.

At this point, I should tell you what love means to me. But I won’t.
Google is a good tool, but on this assignment, don’t use it. Do not use your dictionary too.
Instead, think. Using all the knowledge you have acquired in life, what do you think is the true meaning of love?

You might come up with one answer, you might have multiple answers, but your answer is yours.
Whatever comes to your mind, I want you to juxtapose it with 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 
⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 
⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 
⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Wilson Joshua is a Video Editor, Content Creator, and Creative Writer.
Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. @IJOSWIL

You might be interested in these:

Childhood Lasts Forever – Josh Journal Preparing For A Heartbreak – Josh Journal Offenses Must Come – Josh Journal You Are Being Sentimental! – Josh Journal