[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