What Is Love? The Portrait God Paints of It
Original message: Growing in God's Love - Date: October 4, 2026
Foundational text: 1 John 4:8
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."
1. Love: The Two Sides of the Coin
Love is like a coin. On one side, it is one of the most beautiful realities there is: a source of joy, meaning and warmth. On the other, it can bring sadness to the soul, disappointment, and even much deeper wounds. Many hearts are broken, and some women have found themselves alone raising their children because of love. A feeling that was exhilarating at the start has sometimes turned into a harm of indescribable intensity.
In our society, the word "love" has been diluted, polluted and emptied of its deeper meaning. Many people understand neither its meaning nor its power.
2. Defining Love: A Portrait Rather Than a Definition
The word is common, but defining it is far from easy. According to Dr. Raoul Wafo, the most accurate way to attempt it is to present the character of God, because love is the very definition of who God is. To understand love, we must therefore return to Him, and distinguish along the way between phileo (the love of friendship, brotherly affection), eros (passionate love, made of attraction and desire) and agape (God's unconditional love, which gives itself by decision). Love breathes out the fragrance of God's heart.
The first thing to understand is that love was the motivation and the foundation of God's action to save mankind (John 3:16). Ezekiel speaks of a heart of stone being changed into a heart of flesh: God transforms our old hearts so as to pour out His love into them. What proves our new birth is the ability to walk in that love.
3. The Fundamental Question: Our Motivations
Doing many things is good. But what truly counts in heaven's accounting is what is done out of love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). As Dr. Raoul Wafo puts it:
"Every action on Earth that was not motivated by love will never be recorded in eternity."
In the Kingdom of Heaven, we are valued not by our achievements but by love. The question to ask ourselves, then, is: what is your motivation?
4. The 12 Mysterious Powers of Love
- Love never perishes. It does not die; love never fades (1 Cor 13:8).
- True faith works through love (Gal 5:6). Manifesting true faith without love is not possible, and the blocking of some answered prayers comes from a lack of love.
- Love forgives everything (1 Cor 13:7). It does not take revenge, which is why it matters to heal your soul and your heart before entering a covenant relationship.
- Love gives, even to the point of self-sacrifice. It invests itself in the other person. A covenant relationship is a relationship in which we give: whoever cannot give has not loved.
- Love activates God's supernatural favor (Prov 3:3).
- Love protects. We protect everyone we love, and true love expresses itself even in the person's absence (Prov 4:12; 1 Pet 4:8).
- Love is patient in hope (1 Cor 13:4), but patience does not mean foolishness.
- Love is not selfish; it is generous (1 John 3:15).
- Love leads to the perfecting of relationships (Col 3:13-14; John 15:13). The most stable relationships are those that have survived the most serious crises.
- God rewards love (Isa 58:14).
- Love makes us people of integrity. It does not rejoice in injustice but in the truth (1 Cor 13:6; Matt 6:24).
- Love enriches (Luke 6:38).
5. Conclusion: Loving Is a Decision
Let us remember this: "Love is not an emotion. Love is a choice. Love is a decision." We do not fall in love: we choose to love. It is a mature decision, rooted in enlightened knowledge, not in appearances. We do not love people because they are perfect.
This task is anything but easy, even when the will is there. That is why we need to ask for God's help, even in order to love. For our hearts to be truly transformed, we must combine our efforts, our will and the power of God, so that we may become loving people.
We are in this together.
God loves you and is ready to support you in this quest.
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To get more understanding on this topic you can find Dr Raoul Wafo's message here :
SBE
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