“God is love,” 1 John 4:8. Also, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,” (John 3:16). He gave the most precious gift He had, his son. Love has an element of sacrifice, putting the interest of others first. “It is more blessed to give than receive,” Act 20:35.
There’s more to love than just giving. If it was all giving, you would end up with spoiled children. “Those who the Lord loves he chastens,” Hebrews 12:5, 6. Love sometimes says, “no.” However, the relationship of parents to children is special. We are not to go about punishing others. “Recompense to no man evil for evil. … Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord,” Romans 12:17, 19. However, we are not to enable bad behavior either. The Lord wants us to be just. (See Micah 6:8.)
The Apostle Paul list qualities of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (Weymouth) “Love is patient and kind. Love knows neither envy nor jealousy. Love is not forward and self-assertive, nor boastful and conceited. She does not behave unbecomingly, nor seek to aggrandize herself, nor blaze out in passionate anger, nor brood over wrongs. She finds no pleasure in injustice done to others, but joyfully sides with the truth. She knows how to be silent. She is full of trust, full of hope, full of patient endurance.”
Our Lord tells us to love our enemies. “Love your enemies, and pray for your persecutors; that so you may become true sons of your Father in Heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked as well as the good, and sends rain upon those who do right and those who do wrong. For if you love only those who love you, what reward have you earned?” Matthew 5:44-47 (Weymouth)
How are we to love our enemies? We would be helpful. We would not wish vengeance, though we would not be close to them. “If you come across the ox or donkey of one who is no friend to you wandering from its way, you are to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who has no love for you bent down to the earth under the weight which is put on it, you are to come to its help, even against your desire.” (Exodus 23:4, 5 BBE)
