Claim. True love is a giving force that invests itself down to a zero-point, after which whatever fills the emptiness is acceptable — making love a self-emptying dynamic rather than a possessive emotion.
Elaboration. SMM gives the structural definition: “True love is a force that invests. It is a giving force, not a force that only receives. It gives completely to the degree that it ultimately reaches a zero point. Whatever then enters that completely empty position is okay. This process of giving and receiving will achieve a balance that continues forever” (CSG 13.6 §2). The dynamic produces the universal reciprocal structure: “all beings in heaven and on earth exist in reciprocal relationships so as to form a world of true love through giving and receiving. In reciprocal relationships every giving force causes a returning force, and this is what eternally settles the central point. God exists in the central position of true love – that of the lucky number seven – giving balance to the entire universe. Heavenly fortune develops through the cosmic process of being received and returned. Within such relationships, the flow of love, air, water, and light takes place in circular motion.” The definition extends give-and-take action from a creation mechanism to a normative ethic: a person becomes good by adding to what they receive and sharing it — “bad people are those who take whatever they are given and use it only for themselves.” Love that does not empty itself is not love.
See also. true-love, give-and-take-action