The world has a way of taking words that contain important content, redefining the word, then reapplying it as if it had the same content. "Love" is an obvious example. Biblically it is the unconditional concern for the well-being of another, but the world has redefined it as emotional, "warm affection," even "sex." So when we read, "God so loved the world," it's not "God had so much warm affection for the world" as much as "God had such concern for the best interests of the world ..." But we miss it entirely. "Faith" is another good example. All in the Family's Archie Bunker famously defined it this way: "Faith is something you believe that nobody in his right mind would believe." Credulity ... explicitly in opposition to evidence or reason. The biblical word is most correctly defined as "to be convinced," where "convince" means "to overcome in argument," "to firmly persuade or satisfy by argument or evidence." So biblical "faith" is absolutely not believing in something without any reason. It specifically includes argument and evidence. Just two quick examples of the concept of how the world changes a meaning of a word with key content, then reapplies it. "Oh, you have faith? You mean, you believe it without any good reason?" No ... that's not what we mean.
A word I've recently pondered (a word obviously connected to "faith" and "love" above - see 1 Corinthians 13:13) is "hope." Our "hope" today is "fingers crossed, 'please, oh, please" wishing for something that may or may not occur. Biblical "hope" is quite different. Both refer to something future, but ... there the similarity ends. Modern hope is "wishful thinking" predicated on uncertainty. Biblical hope is "confident expectation" predicated on ... God. Our "hope in the Lord" (e.g., Psa 31:24; Psa 42:5; Acts 24:15; Php 2:19) isn't wishful thinking. The Lord ... never fails (1 Cor 1:9-11; Lam 3:22-23; Num 23:19; Psa 145:13; Heb 13:5). Our "hope" does not include an element of chance. It is predicated solely on the faithfulness of our God. We might hope in the modern "wishful thinking" way when we expect things not promised, but God never fails to satisfy every promise He makes and bring to pass every best plan He has (Psa 115:3; Dan 4:35). In fact, like love and faith, hope is a supernatural gift. As Paul winds down his epistle to the church at Rome, he offers a prayer. "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Rom 15:13).
The world ... the god of this world ... would like to rob you. He wants to take your superior gifts and substitute inferior products. God offers faith, love, and hope. "Here," the god of this world says, "you have credulity and warm affections and wishful thinking." Don't you believe it. God gives overcoming conviction, a selfless concern for the welfare of others, and a confident certainty of promises to be fulfilled because He is certain, selflessly concerned for us, and unfailing in fulfilling His promises. Don't accept a lesser product because the world is selling you lies in common word wrappings.
2 comments:
It makes total sense to me that “love” would be misunderstood by the world, since God is love, and our natural minds can’t grasp the unfathomable truth of all that that entails. Also, Satan hates the Lord and wishes for Man to totally miss out on God’s love, so he works hard to distort the greatest entity in existence.
“Faith” can be completely manmade, misdirected, and impotent--but inflated and revered by so many lost people ensnared in empty religiosity. Sadly, many have faith in faith. True faith--in Christ and His accomplishments--needs no bolstering on my part but cultivates itself.
To my mind, “hope” can mimic “faith” in its “wishful thinking” definition, as in “My hope is that my faith is true”--with fingers crossed, as you say. Alas, when one’s faith is bogus, one’s hope will be as well--a false hope in a blind faith. Again, true faith ensures an equally certain hope for the future.
“The world ... the god of this world ... would like to rob you…. Don't accept a lesser product because the world is selling you lies in common word wrappings.” As you quoted from Rom. 15:13, hope, joy, peace, and love come from the Holy Spirit--the “real deal”!
Biblical faith and hope are related in that they are both based on evidence and aren't simply stepping into the dark.
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