It's loyalty through good times and bad. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weakness.
Love is content with the present, hopes for the future and refuses to brood over the past.
If you have love in your life, it can make up for a great many things that you lack. If you don't, no matter what else there is - it's not enough. If you have to choose between making yourself or your mate look good - choose your mate.