What is Love \u2013 The Cost of Giving. <\/strong>What is love if not costly? Real love demands sacrifice that can\u2019t be found in self-centeredness. You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. Sacrificial love requires that we give what we value most: our hearts, minds, souls, and strength. Real love does not always follow our natural inclinations; it is not an impulse from feelings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Love can only be understood from the actions it prompts. When we bear with the failings and weaknesses of others, divine love reveals itself (Ephesians 4:2). At all costs, this love compels us to give so that we alleviate the suffering of others. Instead of seeking to fulfill our emotional and physical needs (receiving), we humbly give of ourselves (1 Peter 3:8\u20139).<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is Love \u2013 God\u2019s Nature. <\/strong>In a response to, \u201cWhat is Love?\u201d it is erroneous to say \u201clove is God.\u201d God created love, not the reverse. He deliberately chose to express His love to us — revealing the very nature of God Himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God did not need to create the universe. He made that choice as an expression of His ultimate love for us. Then God created us a certain way — to experience all that perfect love was meant to be (Song of Songs 4:9-10; 8:6; 1 John 4:7-12). <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c . . . May your roots go down deep into the soil of God\u2019s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God\u2019s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is\u201d <\/strong>(Ephesians 3:17-18).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n