'But love is the most empty and overused word in the English language after brilliant.'
- H. G. Bissinger (author, Friday Night Lights)
Sports Illustrated, Aug. 3, 2015, p. 56
Does Bissinger have a point? I think so, I believe many of us would agree. We toss the word 'love' around carelessly at times. 'I love (fill in the blank);' 'Don't you just love (fill in the blank);' and on and on. It's hard to know, sometimes, just what the word means. Overused? I believe so. Empty? At times, yes. I once asked a young couple seeing me for pre-marital counseling why they had such trouble using the 'L' word. They didn't know how to respond. I understand that!
Love appears throughout scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments. In the New Testament, the Greek word used most often is agape. This describes God's unconditional, no-strings-attached, self-giving love. It is like no other love. It is a love that cannot begin to be replicated in human relationships. And, it is not, as Bissinger said, an 'empty and overused word.'
In today's text, the author of 1 John 4 says, 'Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love (my italics)' ' 1 John 4:7-8. When I read these verses, I am reminded of the many meditations I've given at weddings I've performed. Why? More often than not, they are based on 1 Corinthians 13, the 'love' chapter. Let me quote a portion:
'Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.' (vv. 4-7)
These 'characteristics' that describe love are, I believe, the very attributes of God. More important, for we who are called to live into the image of God (see Gen. 1:26), this gives a description of how we are to live in all of the relationships to which we belong. All, not some. Of course, it is impossible, but that doesn't mean we should throw up our hands in surrender. Rather, it means we engage in an ongoing process that is lifelong.
And God's love comes to us not because of what we might have done or said to earn it. As Paul wrote to the Roman church, 'But God proves his love for us in that while we still (my italics) were sinners Christ died for us' (Rom. 5:8). That's the hard part in loving others. We think they have to meet our 'standards' first. No! To love as God loves means we offer forgiveness over slights or harm done to us. We don't hold grudges.
We're not selective in who we love. Yes, it's tough, this loving as God loves. But it makes life so much richer and fuller. See you on the road of God's love.
Grace and peace,
Mike
August 9, 2015