As I continued to ponder the truths I explored in my previous
post, I landed on a passage about “all things” that I had not included in
that post. It is in the familiar 13th
chapter of 1 Corinthians, verse 7.
“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.”
Powerful qualifications.
Doesn’t leave any room for confusion.
Wide-eyed surprise, yes. But not
confusion.
So, this got me thinking about LOVE. Of course. It is clearly a key ingredient in our walk
with HaShem. Yeshua said to love YHVH is
our greatest command, and also to love one another. What does that mean? What is love?
I have heard for most of my life the teachings about the
Greek words for love – eros, phileo, agape.
And I have known inherently and by investigation that our English word ‘love’
is plainly anemic in its use. We all
recognize that ‘love’ is the most profound concept in human interaction. Yet, in English, its meanings are so diverse
and shallow that it almost ceases to mean anything at all.
Maybe I am being a little too cynical about this. Call it literary license, hyperbole, emphasis
for effect; but I declare that we cannot deny the diluted diminution of ‘love’
in English; or in western culture in general, I’d say. It has become mostly tawdry, sentimental, cliché,
overwrought; too easily tossed about in our conversations, lifestyles, and popular
entertainment.
These thoughts led me to do a bit of research, which
resulted in the discovery of a couple of articles that I found greatly enlightening. In fact, they nearly took my breath
away. Therefore, I am going to share
them with you here instead of trying to summarize or cherry-pick quotes from
them.
At the risk of being a ‘spoiler,’ I will tease you with a
couple of ideas from these articles. One
is a brief Hebrew word study, and it delivers the notion of love’s relationship
to giving. The other offers the
statement that love is an obligation. I
encourage you to read both articles all the way through! You will not be disappointed.
Parting thoughts:
1. Considering love’s relationship to giving, how does this affect our perspective on YHVH’s gifts to us? James 1:17
2. Read Romans 8:38-39. What does this tell you about the dimensions and availability of YHVH’s love for you?
1. Considering love’s relationship to giving, how does this affect our perspective on YHVH’s gifts to us? James 1:17
2. Read Romans 8:38-39. What does this tell you about the dimensions and availability of YHVH’s love for you?
Shalom!
שלום
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