[love/love]

contrasting?

maybe.

how can love and love be contrasting?

well, simple. the Bible talks about the word love in a plethora of ways (well, actually only two...but go with me).

for Christians, one of the most commonly cited passages about love is [1 cor 13]. this is what's often known as the "love chapter", and defines what love is and what love is not.

for your reference...

Love is:

• patient
• kind

It:

• does not envy
• does not boast
• is not proud
• is not rude
• is not self-seeking
• is not easily angered
• keeps no record of wrongs

Love does not:

• delight in evil but rejoices in truth

Love always:

• protects
• trusts
• hopes

***1 corinthians 13:4-7 niv***

okay, that's good and all...

but what about my love for [warm chocolate chip cookies]?

nothing beats (at least in my mind), a freshly baked, crispy-on-the-outside-chewy-on-the-inside, gooey, chocolate chip cookie. so good.

crap, i'm hungry now...must focus.

anyways, would i say that my love for such a heavenly delight really fall under this definition of love?

well....

• i certainly envy its deliciousness
• i am definitely not kind to it when i eat it.... o.O
• any chocolate chip cookie out of the oven doesn't have a hope in the world of lasting longer than 5 minutes....
• the list (and my bad humor) can go on and on...i think you get the point.

the point is, we throw around the word [love] too flippantly.

in 1 corinthians 13:4-7, the root of the word "love" is greek, and comes from the word ἀγάπη which in english translates to something like "agape". this type of "agape" love is not foreign to many Christians, but i'll define it roughly for those who don't know what it means.

agape love: a self-sacrificing love. a love for something where a person would die rather than give up or break the bonds of love. [the type of love God has for us]

dear friends, in the words of the apostle john, the [disciple whom Jesus loved...]

"this is [agape] love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins".

---------------

wait.

i said there was at least two types of love in the Bible. you're right. the greeks actually had [four] words for love in their language:

• agape (unconditional),
• eros (erotic),
• storge (family love) and
• philia (brotherly love, casual).

the Bible uses agape as seen in the corinthians passage, and also uses philia in passages like romans 12:10. there are also examples of eros and storge in the Bible but are not specifically called that.

my point?

my brothers and sisters, we are called to LOVE by our great God, who LOVED US FIRST. but what does that mean? shallow relationships with hundreds of people who we "love" about as much as i love chocolate chip cookies?

i dont think so.

i feel we are called to LOVE deeply, to invest in each other and in friendships. it takes a lot of work and it can be painful at times. but in the words of mumford and sons:

"where you invest your LOVE, you invest your LIFE".

i'm wrapping up my time here at camp Michindoh for YoungLife, and have seen literally hundreds of campers walk through here who have never experienced the love of the Father, or deep spiritual love. they have been told they are "loved" even, but when push comes to shove, they are the ones shoved aside. brothers and sisters, we have a responsibility to love. let's not let that pass away, much less that the Father would do the same...

In His Grip,

Jonathan

[story]

this one doesn't have a contrasting title, because i don't think [words] can describe what i have to say...

i have been working at a younglife camp since the beginning of june in hillsdale, michigan, at a camp called [michindoh]. i'm on the music team, as well as one of the four people who tell their life-story in front of all 250+ kids every week for an event known as lifesigns. it is the hope of those running camp that by us telling [our story] that the kids can relate and realize that [their story] is really just part of the [big story], and that they are not alone.

i've been completely taken aback by this experience.

as part of our assignment, we greet every single camper and leader as they get off the bus (there were 308 this week). we give each and every one of them a high five or a hug as they get off the bus and start at the camp welcome. i saw every single camper get off that bus and walk into a place where, for the first time, some of them had

• walls broken down
• the [truth] poured into them
• been told for the first time that someone LOVES them.

throughout this week, i've had several campers and leaders come up to me and tell me about their lives; about the emotional pain they feel, the sense of hopelessness that they have inside.

its hard.

it really is hard.

i remember being at that point of helplessness, where trapped between reality and madness there was only room for heartache. never in a million years could you have told me that, five years ago, in the pit of my own despair, would i ever have the opportunity to tell my [story].

if you are reading this, know that you are not alone.

there is a GOD out there who cares for you, who wants to know you.

its not about [my story] or [your story] or [anybody's story].

its about [HIS story]

and in his ending, you are the winner.

always winning,

-J

[drunk/sober]

this is the epitome of contrast, if you ask me.

the very definition of being drunk means to be [not] sober

while

the very definition of being sober means to be [not] drunk

its usually pretty easy to tell if a person is drunk versus sober, given their contrasting nature.

i mean...

we've all seen those TV shows where the cop pulls someone over, whose clearly as inebriated as humanly possible...who, while falling out of their car, is telling the cop that "no officer ma'am, i haven't been drinking tonight..."

yeah....clearly, not drinking.

it is the [actions] of the person that define drunkenness and sobriety, not their [words].

the same is true for Christian spirituality.

1. it the the actions of a Christian, not their words that define love [1 John 3:18]
2. it is possible to be [drunk] or [sober] as a Christian, in the spiritual sense [1 Cor. 12-14]

there is a sharp /divide/ in Christianity today, between those sober in spirit and those drunk in the spirit. while this might be considered an interesting way to describe Christianity, there is evidence for both in the Scriptures.

evidence for being sober [in the spirit]:

1. 1 Peter 5:8 [be sober-minded]

2. Galatians 5:21 [...drunkenness...and things like these...will not inherit the Kingdom of God]

3. etc.

evidence for being drunk [in the spirit]:

1. Acts 2 [the actions of the disciples at Pentecost, to the point where Peter had to distinguish between their actions]

2. Nehemiah 8:10 [the joy of the Lord is our strength, that is, the joy of the Spirit]

3. etc.

trust me, this is an argument to end all arguments, and is one of the major schism points in the church. i have been on both extreme ends of this debate, and can definitely see and understand both points of it.

but whats the point of it?

is it really worth getting worked up over the [power of the Spirit], and how it manifests itself?

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.

.

.

.

.

.

.

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absolutely!

we should be [utterly] concerned about how the Spirit manifests itself.

i want, i desire to see the Spirit move in power. if the Spirit of God moves people to actions of extreme joy, who am i to limit its power? Scripture is also very clear on the gifts and workings of the Spirit and they are [real] and they are [powerful].

if God made us [fly] or [walk on water] or be [completely self controlled], He would completely be in the right to do so. that is his [control] and i want to rest in it.

so for me, its not about being [drunk] or [sober].

its about being [in the Spirit].