It is difficult to formulate a definition of love anymore. We have so trivialized it that we accept "a tickling sensation around the heart" as a definition. "Puppy love" is easily laughed off, though it is serious to the puppy involved.
On the other end of the spectrum, the entertainment industry would have us believe that lust and perversion are love. Nothing could be further from the truth. Lust is pursued for self-gratification. Love is not selfish. It is self-sacrificial and characterized by giving.
Probably the most universally recognized Bible verse describes God's love as a giving act. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). God loved and gave in sacrifice that which was dearest to His heart, His Son.
God's Son also loved and gave. The Apostle Paul wrote of Him, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
The object loved is not always worth the sacrifice from the human point of view. Consider the objects of God's love: "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-8).
Do you recognize yourself as ungodly today? Then God loves you and gave His Son for your redemption. Do you see yourself as a sinner? Then Christ loves you and has given Himself as the only acceptable sacrifice for your sins. If you will trust Him alone and receive Him, by faith, as your Savior, you will have everlasting life, starting today.