What is Love?

First, did the title immediately make you sing a line from Haddaway's version? I did!!
BUT... I was being completely sincere in my question.

What IS love? That four letter word has been the bane of human existence probably since the dawn of time. Why is it we can conquer the ability to fly, go to the moon, build unimaginable creations for humans to advance, but the concept of love is still amazingly taboo.

I generally go straight to the Bible for my answers on love. From what Jesus taught, love is a matter of sacrifice. Yeah, there's the 1 Cor 13 list, but how can you express patience without sacrifice?

For example.
The flesh, or our human nature- instinct if you will- desires satisfaction. Think of Veruca Salt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. "I Want it NOW!

Being selfish doesn't have to be a child grabbing a toy. Adults probably show more signs of selfishness than children. I think sometimes it stems from the thought of being an adult entitles one to act and expect certain things to happen the way they want it to.

Sometimes, smiling and nodding at a stranger is a sacrifice. I may feel like absolute crap, or maybe I have been in a frustrating situation, but that person does not deserve my anger. No one does.

Humans are emotional creatures. Why? For Christians, we believe it is a way to connect to our creator. He expressed the utmost love to us; he even showed anger and disappointment. God is an emotional being, and he craves our love for him.

Love. Such a hard concept to master. Yet, in reality, it is one of the easiest things you can do to improve the quality of someone's life.

1 Cor 13
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

In other words...
Everyone on Earth craves affection. Everyone craves gentleness and kindness, modesty and confidence, respect and forgiveness, amd especially peace.

Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
This is yet another dilemma people of today struggle deeply with. Self-love is not the same as loving ones self. If you always put yourself on the throne of your life, everyone else will end up falling short of your superiority. If your focus is always how others affect you, how others annoy you, how others don't meet your needs, there is genuinely something wrong.

Instead, loving yourself indicates value in your presence in other's lives. How can you better the other person's day, life, situation? What is your skill set to be a benefit to others? What do you value about yourself to show others through your sacrificial love? REGARDLESS if the other person shows IMMEDIATE appreciation. That isn't WHY someone sacrifices.

Simple example:
One should never wash someone's car as a favor and be mad when they didn't thank you correctly. That defeats the point in your act of service, sacrificing your time and energy for someone else. Losing your cool and not continuing to show love will wipe away the act completely, and it will all be for naught.
Instead, show love. Sacrifice the need to bite someone's head off and watch as the love you showed smooths the prickly edges of your conquest. When they call you up and say, "Hey...did I say thank you for ___... I meant to, but I was having a hard time with ___" and you will find peace in knowing you touched someone's soul that day.

That, my fellow humans, that is Love.