love; noun, verb—defined?

I've always had a hard time trying to define the type of love I hope to experiance in this life. People always have a list. "Oh, he ride's a bike. And he likes me. And he loves Jesus...." and this and that. Love is more than that. Love is the willingness to give our lives away for another. Love in serving another—laying your life down for another.

love noun, verb, loved, lov·ing.
–noun
1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend.
3. sexual passion or desire.
4. a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.
5. (used in direct address as a term of endearment, affection, or the like): Would you like to see a movie, love?
6. a love affair; an intensely amorous incident; amour.
7. sexual intercourse; copulation.
8. (initial capital letter) a personification of sexual affection, as Eros or Cupid.
9. affectionate concern for the well-being of others: the love of one's neighbor.
10. strong predilection, enthusiasm, or liking for anything: her love of books.
11. the object or thing so liked: The theater was her great love.
12. the benevolent affection of God for His creatures, or the reverent affection due from them to God.
13. Chiefly Tennis. a score of zero; nothing.
14. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter L. –verb (used with object)
15. to have love or affection for: All her pupils love her.
16. to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection for (another person).
17. to have a strong liking for; take great pleasure in: to love music.
18. to need or require; benefit greatly from: Plants love sunlight.
19. to embrace and kiss (someone), as a lover.
20. to have sexual intercourse with. –verb (used without object)
21. to have love or affection for another person; be in love.

Look at how our society defines love. It is ridiculous. Love is sex? Love is really liking someone? Passionate affection for another? What weak ways of defining what love should be. And no wonder the divorce rate is so high in the United State; when we are defining love as we are people don't understand the concept that love is giving yourself—all of you—to another. When that fuzzy feeling in the pit of your stomache goes away, when it gets really, really hard, when the tux and the dress and the food and the brides maides are gone and all that is left is your heart that heart better be saying "forever I will lay my life down for you".

That is love.