What Is The Definition Of True Love?

{A guest post by Melody Muffin of The Splendor Falls On Castle Walls}

What, to me, is the definition of true love?

For me, true love, especially pertaining to a romantic relationship, is not the emotional feeling that sweeps you along and makes you feel that if you don't see the other person soon and/or often you will die.  That is passion.

It isn't the feeling that the other person is the best person in the world, or the prettiest, the most handsome, talented, cool, etc.

Love is a meeting of two souls, fully accepting the dark and the light within each other and bound by the courage to grow through struggle into bliss. ~ Jackson Kiddard

True love is seeing a person's good points, yes.  But it is also caring so deeply about that person that you are willing to accept their faults with their talents.  It is knowing that despite the storms that will come, the relationship you have together will weather each one and will be worth every one of them.  It is the feeling that you won't be alone, no matter what comes.  That even when you argue or disagree on something, you still care deeply for each other.  You won't betray each other, you won't leave each other.  You will walk through each and every storm knowing that it will end at some point and you will come out on the other side stronger than before.  It is the feeling of having your true best friend beside you every step of the way- in the good and the bad, the trials and the joys, the shadows and the sunshine.  It is knowing that no matter how much you love each other, God loves each of you more, and your love for him binds you closer to each other.  No longer are you two separate identities traveling the same road, you are two people bound into one joint partnership identity.  It is loyalty, fidelity, trust, and faith.

Loyalty means nothing unless it has at it's heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice. ~ Woodrow Wilson

Loyalty

Look not for beauty nor for the color of skin;

But look for the heart that is loyal within.

For beauty will fade and skin will grow old,

But the heart that is loyal will never grow cold.

French philosopher Albert Camus (and just so you know, I don't endorse most of his work) once wrote, 'Do not walk behind me; I may not lead.  Do not walk in front of me; I may not follow.  Just walk beside me and be my friend.'  I believe this kind of relationship should be the core of romantic love.  Just to clarify, yes, I believe in a Biblical line of authority and all that, but that's not what I'm talking about here.  I'm not talking about how the decision making chain should work, I'm talking about how the interpersonal relationship should work.

That is what true love means to me.

I can't write a post on the definition of true love without at least mentioning the iconic 'love verses' of 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8.  They are iconic for a reason.  And I mention them for two reasons.  First of all, they ARE God's definition of true love.  And secondly....

I use the King James Version of the Bible.  The original Greek New Testament used the word 'agape' in these verses.  Most versions of the Bible translate that word as 'love' but the KJV translates it as 'charity'.  At the time the KJV was translated, the word 'charity' did not mean what it does today.  The New Oxford American Dictionary gives the archaic meaning of 'charity' as: love of humankind; typically in a Christian context.  That is a broader meaning than can be conveyed by simply using our English word 'love'.

From God's lips to our ears - what love means:

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.  Charity never faileth.

God's blessings and true love to all of you!

About Melody: 

First and foremost a Christian, Melody is a voracious reader and is rather passionate about writing. She is a costume, history, drama and literature geek, and loves horses and -for the most part- dislikes cleaning house. Being the oldest girl and second eldest child of 12 keeps her pretty busy, but she still finds time to blog over at The Splendor Falls On Castle Walls.