What is love? (Sorry if you started to bop your head to the Haddaway song just now.)

Jesus tells us to love God, love our neighbors, and even love our enemies.  Paul devotes an entire chapter in 1 Corinthians to describing love. Greeting card companies will sell $7-8 billion of love-themed cards for Valentine’s Day. But do we know what love really is? To get to the bottom of this mystery, I decided to ask the experts: young children.

What is love?

“Love is better than liking someone. You want to be around them all the time.” – James, 5

“Love means doing nice things for someone even if they don’t find out you did it.” – Ami, 6

“Love makes you feel happy.” – Sam, 6

How do you know someone loves you?

“My dog, Ruby, loves me a lot. She licks my face every morning to wake me up.” – Evan, 7 

“I know my mom loves me because she cooks my favorite food on my birthday.” – Sophia, 5

“My brother says Lizzy loves me because she chases me around the slide at recess. I don’t think she does. She just wants to be as fast as me.” – Isaiah, 6

Do you love anyone?

“I love my mom and my dad. I love my brother, too, most of the time.” – Isabelle, 8

“I love my girlfriend. She’s really pretty.” – Luke, 6

How do you let them know you love them?

“Sometimes I write my friend a note with lots of hearts and crosses on it. They know I love them and Jesus loves them, too.” – Faith, 8 

“I made my bed this morning so that my mom didn’t have to.” – Isaiah, 6

“I give kisses. Not like my dog. Like a person.” – Evan, 7

Love often becomes more complicated as we get older, but not always. During this season of love, pay attention to the ways little ones express love. You just might learn a thing or two.

Join Sparkhouse this month as we share Love Notes with our loved ones and community. Join the fun with our FREE downloadable and tag us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with #sparkhouse and #sparkhouselove.