Love is a feeling of warm attachment or deep affection, as for a friend, for a parent or child; the warm fondness or liking for another; also the benevolent affection of God for his creatures or the reverent affection due from them to God. It is furthermore the kindly affection properly expressed by God's creation of humans toward one another. The Scriptures too speak of love guided by principle, as love of righteouness, or even love for one's enemies, for whom a person may not have an affection. This facet or expression of love is an unselfish devotion to righteousness and a sincere concern for the lasting welfare of others. The verb ’a·hev´ or ’a·hav´ (“love”) and the noun ’a·havah´ (“love”) are the words primarily used in Hebrew to denote love in the Bible. The Christian Greek Scriptures, commonly called the "New Testament", mainly employ forms of the words a·ga´pe, phi·li´a, and two words drawn from stor·ge´. E´ros, love between the sexes, is not used, though the Greek Septuagint uses forms of it at Proverbs 7:18 and 30:16, and there are other references to romantic love in the Hebrew Scriptures, such as when Isaac “fell in love with” Rebekah (Genesis 24:67), and in the case of Jacob, who apparently fell in love with beautiful Rachel at first sight. In fact, “Jacob proceeded to serve seven years for Rachel, but in his eyes they proved to be like some few days because of his love for her.” (Genesis 29:9-11, 17, 20) Then there is the strong family love, or natural affection, based on blood relationship, for which the Greeks had the word stor·ge´. It is responsible for the saying, “Blood is thicker than water.” We have a fine example of this in the love that the sisters Mary and Martha had for their brother Lazarus. That he meant much to them can be seen by how greatly they mourned his sudden death. And how they rejoiced when Jesus restored their beloved Lazarus to life! (John 11:1-44) The love a mother has for her child is another example of this kind of love, for the apostle Paul said that " we became gentle in the midst of you, as when a nursing mother cherishes her own children." (1 Thessalonians 2:7) Thus, to underscore how great his love was for Zion or the nation of Israel, God stated that it was even greater than that of a mother for her child.(Isaiah 49:15)One indication that we are living in “the last days” with their “critical times hard to deal with” is a lack of “natural affection" (2 Timothy 3:1, 3), love based on blood relationship, with some grown children neglecting their aged parents or parents abusing their children, such as the father who stabbed his eleven month old son in the back and threw him out the window in Indianapolis, Indiana. Then there is the Greek word phi·li´a, denoting affection (with no sexual overtones) between friends, as between two mature men or women. We have a fine example of this in the love that David and Jonathan had for each other. When Jonathan was killed in battle, David mourned him, saying: “I am distressed over you, my brother Jonathan, very pleasant you were to me. More wonderful was your love to me than the love from women.” (2 Samuel 1:26) The Greek noun phi·li´a (friendship) is found only once in the Christian Greek Scriptures ("New Testament"), where James warns that “the friendship with the world is enmity with God . . . Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend (phi´los) of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God.”(Jas 4:4)What is the noblest kind of love ? By far, in the Christian Greek Scriptures, commonly called the New Testament, a·ga´pe "love" is. This kind of "love" is not sentimentality, based on mere personal attachment, as is usually thought of, but is a moral or social love based on a deliberate willingness to follow principles. A·ga´pe (love) transcends personal enmities, never allowing these to cause one to abandon right principles and to retaliate in kind. A·ga´pe (love) can also include deep feelings. The apostle Peter wrote to "Have intense love (a·ga´pe ) for one another" at 1 Peter 4:8. Thus, it can be said that a·ga´pe involves the heart as well as the mind. What Greek word did Paul use at 1 Corinthians 13:13, where he mentioned faith, hope, and love and said that “the greatest of these is love”? Here the word is a·ga´pe, the same one that the apostle Peter used when encouraging ones to "have intense love" and when John used it, at 1 John 4:8,16, when he said: “God is love (a·ga´pe )". This is a love guided or governed by principle. It may or may not include affection and fondness, but it is an unselfish emotion or feeling concerned with doing good to others regardless of the merits of the recipient or of any benefits accruing to the giver. Love of this kind caused God to give the dearest treasure of his heart, his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, “in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) As Paul so well reminds us: “Hardly will anyone die for a righteous man; indeed, for the good man, perhaps, someone even dares to die. But God recommends his own love (a·ga´pe ) to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7, 8) Yes, a·ga´pe does good to others regardless of their status in life or the cost to the one expressing the love.