Is Human Love compatible with God’s Love?
At first glance, they seem quite different. Yet, when people speak of love in the heat of a moment, they may not readily distinguish. Human conversations about love often come more from the heart than the head. So, what’s the point? Conversations about love are significant and shouldn’t be taken lightly. Love is perhaps the one thing that keeps us humans alive. Who can live without care, without eros? Some may try, but I am not one of them.
I confess that I’ve often been confused about what others mean when they speak of true love, real love, or God’s love. I also wonder if I’ve been clear when using those exact words.
In Book 11 of St. Augustine’s Confessions, he reflects on the nature of time, asking, “What then is time? If no one asks me, I know: if I wish to explain it to one that asketh, I know not.” He points out how imprecise everyday speech can be: “For but few things are there of which we speak properly; of most things we speak improperly, still, the things intended are understood.”
We could apply this to love: “What then is love? If no one asks me, I know: if I wish to explain it to one that asketh, I know not.” This is how I felt before I started writing this blog.
In this blog, we’ve already outlined four broad types of love: non-personal, caring, self-transcendent, and erotic love.
With these four categories in mind, we can talk more intelligently about love and better understand what others mean when they talk about love—even if they aren’t always clear.
But there is more to it…
Now, let’s unpack the ambiguous use of the kinds of love labeled as God’s love, true love, and real love. These three kinds of love do not necessarily map cleanly to the four general categories of love as outlined above. Again, when people talk about love, they talk from the heart. And that heart is not a lab for analysis and logic. Yet, we find rhyme and reason even in the heart. Read on, please. People of faith will perhaps appreciate the following terminology.
Differentiating God’s love from True Love and Real Love
Differentiating the terms ‘God’s love’ from ‘true love’ and ‘real love’ requires understanding the workings of affect, semantics, and more, as well as their emergence within human relationships. However, properly using these now-understood terms may become second nature for ordinary people.
God’s Love
God’s love is the foundation and source of all love; the original, unchanging, and eternal love emanates from our Heavenly Parent. It is a love that transcends human understanding and experience. Yet, people say that this love is unconditional, selfless, and sacrificial, seeking the highest good of all creation without expecting anything in return. It is a love that flows from the Creator to every creature, nurturing and sustaining life, and its boundless grace and mercy characterize it. This love is seen as the ultimate goal of human existence.
True Love
True love, on the other hand, is the manifestation of God’s love within the human heart and relationships. True love reflects the divine qualities of God’s love but is expressed through human interactions. It is a love that goes beyond physical attraction or emotional infatuation. It is the love between parents and children, between spouses, and among siblings and friends. True love is reciprocal and nurturing; it grows and deepens through mutual giving and receiving. It seeks to uplift and support the beloved, aiming for unity and harmony. While true love is deeply rooted in the conception and/or experience of God’s love, it requires effort, commitment, and sincerity to cultivate and maintain.
Real Love
Real love is the practical application of true love between two people resonating with each other in everyday life. The expression of self-transcendence, care, and eros through decisions, behaviors, and actions reflects true love’s values and principles. Real love is demonstrated through reciprocal kindness, patience, forgiveness, and compassion, but not limited to so. It is not just an emotion or feeling of one but a deliberate choice to mutually act in ways that promote the well-being and satisfaction of both. Real love is grounded in reality, acknowledging boths needs of mind and body as well as the challenges of shared life while striving to embody the ideals of true love in every circumstance.
In Conclusion
For people of faith, God’s love is the origin and essence of all love. For them and most others, true love is the heartfelt connection and commitment between individuals. Real love, then, is the tangible expression of that intimate connection between two persons.
To differentiate love this way is to recognize the divine source, the relational depth, and the practical expression of love in our lives.
By aligning our hearts with God’s love, nurturing true love in our relationships, and practicing real love in our conduct and actions, we can find satisfaction and help bring about a world of peace and harmony.
What’s love got to do with it? What’s love but a secondhand emotion?
Tina Turner
American singer Tina Turner’s lyrics from her 1984 hit song are haunting. Many folks resonate with Turner’s sentiments.
I do not.
But I question how a non-human entity like a god can be said to ‘love.’ Must we literally ascribe our most noble human characteristics and traits to an enigmatic, unknowable being? The here and now of human love matters to me. True and real love is what makes life worth living for me. In the end, as the reader of this post, you must find your own answers and be prepared to live with them.
Next, ABCs of Love –
3. Lost in Translation: Amorous Love
Amorous love is not the same as sex or friendship. Human desires are multi-faceted, but under the hood − so to speak − do we not all seek the attainment of intimate synchrony in mind and body with one other?