"Love is love" they tell us, as if that's helpful, even a proof of something. We all nod, in some way, and agree. Love is a good thing. But ... what is love? "Well," the dictionary tells us, "Love is strong affection for another." And, of course, that's rather simplistic. It's also "attraction based on sexual desire" and "warm attachment" and ... the list goes on. We know there is familial love which binds families together, even if it's not always a warm affection. We know that we might love, say, pizza in a way quite differently than we love, say, our mothers, again differently than we love our spouses. "Love" -- it seems like an actual definition can be really quite elusive.
Love, then, seems to be relative. So how do we clear up the variations? Am I supposed to love God based on sexual desire? Of course not! On strong affection? Well, now I might have something there ... except that "strong affection" cannot be commanded (like in Matt 22:27-40). Is there a "love" that is not primarily predicated on "affection" or "attraction" or "desire"? I think there is. Furthermore, I think all Christians are commanded to do this singular thing ... as a way of life. You see, when God loved, He gave (John 3:16). When Christ loved, He humbled Himself ... to death (Php 2:5-8). Our version of love is self-serving -- you make me feel warmly toward you. God's version of love is self-sacrificing. He set aside Himself in order to give us His best.
Language is a difficult thing. Words are symbols intended to convey thoughts from one mind to another. Unfortunately, the word intended to convey "self-sacrifice for the best of another" has been co-opted to gather what I like best for myself, and we're left without a symbol to convey the grandest notion of them all. The ultimate good we can do is to love on that scale. Not "be true to yourself" or "never let anyone get in the way of your dreams" or even "learn to love yourself." The greatest good we can do is to rely on God and sacrifice self for His glory and the welfare of others. But, of course, that's not ... human, is it? No, it's not. It's divine.
2 comments:
"It was black and white with no room for gray
Ya see, a big V stood beyond my word
And yo, that's when it hit me (ha), that luv is a verb."
From that great theologian, Toby McKeehan
We certainly need more words to indicate different aspects of them. Anyone that has been in church for good length of time should know that the Greek several words that we simply translate as "love", but have different meanings. We need to get back to that. I'm not sure how though.
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