a definition

love is finding your joy in someone else's joy.

i was trying to define what love truly is last week, and that's what i got. and it fits, as far as i can tell. we love God by finding our joy in His joy, which means we obey Him because it shows we care about Him and what He wants us to do. Jesus loves us by finding His joy (part of it) in our joy, and since it is most joyful for us to know Him and treasure Him and be in relationship with Him, Jesus came down and died to reconcile us to Him, so that He would have a people to enjoy Him and glorify Him forever. and we love other people by finding our joy in their joy so that we rejoice with those who rejoice, we mourn with those who mourn, because their joy or lack thereof influences our joy or lack thereof. ultimately, we love them most by helping them find their joy in Jesus above all things, because they will not be most joyful until they treasure Him over everything else. this is how paul writes "not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith" (2 corinthians 1:24), and it makes sense in the context of the next few verses, where paul talks about finding his joy in the joy of the corithian church. so our joy makes those who love us joyful, which makes us joyful because we love them, and so it's a great feedback loop of joy. it's all about joy, and specifically, joy in Jesus. this is Christian hedonism. this is love.