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We would all most likely agree that people need love in order to thrive -- without it we just survive because we are designed and created by God to need love through care and attention as we grow and mature. Love is necessary to bond, develop, achieve, and feel like you can conquer the world, so to speak. There are different types of love such as romantic or erotic love which is referred to as Eros -- taken from the Greek language which involves emotional and physical interaction between a man and a woman after they have joined as one through the marriage covenant initiated and instituted by God. Adam and Eve were the first people to be joined by God in marriage in the Garden of Eden. If you are desirous of reading this account it is found in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Before being called by God I confused Eros or erotic love with lust as the vast majority of the world continues to do. Lust is temporary and not Godly. It is associated with carnal desires that focus on the self, about what the individual can get, what pleases and excites you, is addictive, and certainly not what love is about. Lust feels really good, so good we think it is truly based on love, but beware it is a sinful trap. The author and promoter of lust is none other than the Devil, and yes he exists as well as the demons, even though we may think or wish otherwise. James 2:19 speaks about the demons trembling because they fear God while the devil is referred to as the God of this age in 2 Corinthians 4:4.
Then there is deep, nurturing love for our children as we are blessed by God to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28, 9:7). God loves His children and we can learn how to love our children with Godly love based on the many lessons provided in the book of Proverbs. We may know about brotherly love as between men or women (brethren) in church congregations around the world which is known as Phileo love -- Phileo is taken from the word Philadelphia, an ancient city from the Aegean region of Turkey where Christians were well known for brotherly love traits as exhibited with genuinely sincere warmth and affinity between each other via all their interactions. A great example of this type of love can be seen in the Bible between David and Jonathan. We can read about this in 1 Samuel 18:1-3 which says "Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul". A remarkable account which deserves further reading and has been referenced from the New King James version. David and Jonathan were faithful best friends who were committed to one another until death as they were wholeheartedly obedient to God.
The Bible mentions another type of love as Agape love. This form of love is everlasting and sacrificial, whether or not the giver receives the same level of love in return, as it is unconditional and motivated by pure intentions. In the original Greek translation of the scriptural passage “God is love", the word agape was specifically used to identify the type of love God embodies (1 John 4:8). Furthermore, in the love chapter -- 1 Corinthians 13 -- we know that "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). This is the perfect chapter to read each and every time we may face marital struggles, conflicts, disagreements or issues we need to resolve with our spouse. God is perfection and His Word never fails if we allow His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.
As noted above from scripture in 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle Paul’s inspired description makes clear that agape love is perfect love. Almighty God displayed His perfect love for us when He sent His only Son to be sacrificed as an atonement for our sins so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16). This was done while we were all still sinners and before we even accepted or loved Him (Romans 5:8). God's love cannot be any greater as it is absolute perfection and the ultimate pinnacle of giving through loving in the most perfect sense of the word with physical, spiritual, and supernatural ramifications we may think of as Blessings. God's people are currently and faithfully practicing loving others with Agape love in order to become more Christ-like for those of us who are in earnest training as God's disciples.
For those who haven't been called by God in this physical life and are oblivious to how God is working to bring all of humanity into a close relationship with Him, they remain deceived and confused as to Godly love. Personally I know of a few who are very loving people and think highly of them as they live moral lives for the most part and have kind, loving hearts with subsequent actions for which one could easily mistake them for a Christian on the surface except that they do not know about the Sabbath or the 7 annual holy day festivals. Perhaps you can think of people like this too? It is simply not their time yet for God to show them by lifting the veil of deception, however they will be easy to teach in God's Kingdom and we, God's firstfruits will be their teachers if we remain close to God.
Their deception includes thinking it is a good thing to attend marriages between same sex couples even though they do not agree with homosexuality. Some have homosexual children, relatives, or friends and they believe marriage is a fundamental right for all adults -- their minds have been perverted by the agenda for equality which has been ramping up for years by none other than the devil. Often the way their minds think encompass thoughts such as "live and let live" or "as long as they do not try to hit on me, then all is ok" which is definitely not right. While it is acceptable to love all people because God loves all people, it is not right to accept any or all homosexual behaviours as God sees this as an abomination and never intended union between two people to be anything other than between one man and one woman, despite what humans decide is right in their own eyes (Leviticus 18:22). As Creator of this world, of humankind -- this means every person who has ever lived and will ever live, of every baby who has been aborted or died in childbirth -- as well as everything in the world which includes the devil, God has, and is, the ultimate authority. He allows what He allows for purpose. He wants to see how we use the freewill given to us by Him, the choices we make, and desires that we make good choices, the better choices instead of choices which lead to pain, sadness, regret, and death.
Down through millennia people have not essentially changed. We have amazing and incredible technological advances in our time yet we all have carnal, human nature to contend with just like they did many thousands of years ago beginning with Adam and Eve when they committed sin, with Pharaoh over the Egyptians, when Lot and his family lived prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, during the reign of King David and his son Solomon, when the 12 disciples interacted with Jesus Christ in the 1st century A.D., when King Henry VIII wielded his power during the 16th Century, when Herbert W. Armstrong was inspired by God to bring God's powerful message to the world of the coming Kingdom of God via radio broadcasts, TV, and print media during the 20th Century, and even now while Queen Elizabeth II reigns during her latter days in the 21st Century.
We all have carnal human nature to resist and overcome and this means resisting sin. Humans all need to be loved in order to have healthy hearts and minds but unless they have God helping them with knowledge and wisdom from the Bible, and unless they keep the 10 Commandments, people will continue to look for love in all the wrong places. Some of these places include pubs, bars, and late night clubs while drinking alcohol to numb the pain of loneliness, on dating sites by paying fees to access data and then scrolling through photos and reading bios, on the internet via various social websites, in festivals such as Easter and Xmas, then there are celebrations involving Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve, Halloween, and other pagan days that God finds abhorrent. These are the kinds of events where people get together to have "a good time". This is how the world attempts to find love. There is no genuine love to be found in any of these events, just pain and suffering as it is connected to lust which destroys relationships eventually.
If we are really serious about looking for love in all the right places then we need to put God first by establishing a relationship with our Creator, then the rest will follow (Matthew 6:33). All the right places can be found around the world in various congregations keeping God's Holy Days including the weekly Sabbath. Whether it is Phileo love between brethren, Eros love between man and wife, love for family and/or children through God fruitfully blessing a union in marriage, or Agape love for all others, God will direct your steps as Proverbs 3:5-6 outlines "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths". If it is God's will, then it will come to pass.