Love Makes the World Go ‘Round October 19, 2009

I love strawberries.

They may be the best fruit made by God. Not only are they delicious by themselves, they can be cut up and put into a smoothie, they can become part of a fruit salad, or (my favorite) dipped in chocolate.

 

Love is similar. There are different forms of love and different ways to love.

 

Here are a few greek words for the different kinds of love:

• agape
• philos
• eros

Strange words to us, yes. But these words portray love as what it really is, not just the broad word that we associate with it.

 

Eros is a physical expression of love. It is only temporary, and is primarily based on physical attraction. Definitely a nice way to express love, but eros is surface level (when expressed without a philos foundation) and is not what we are focusing on today.

 

Philos is a bit deeper. This is your earthly love, the kind that forms a bond between friends, marriage, and family. Philos does have limitations and can even shatter the love between people. This love will not last without agape love, and is felt to varying degrees by every person.

 

Agape. This love is the most legit thing you’ll ever experience in life. Agape is the most perfect form of love, and God is the only one who can truly agape love. This love is characterized by all of the things mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13. Here’s the classic NIV version:

 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

⁴Love is patient, love is kind.

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

⁷It always protects, always trusts,

always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸Love never fails.

 

These words express the fullness of agape love. They also reveal characteristics of God. Check it out:

 

⁴God is patient, God is kind.

He does not envy, He does not boast, He is not proud.

⁵He is not rude, He is not self-seeking,

He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs.

⁶God does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

⁷God always protects, always trusts,

always hopes, always perseveres.

 ⁸God never fails.

 

Yeah, yeah. Whatever Lydia. Yay Jesus and all that.

Don’t worry folks, there’s more to it.

 

As followers of the Most High God, we are charged with the duty of doing our best to be like Jesus. Our goal should be to be as much like Christ as possible. It’s our calling, what we should strive for. Not only should we attempt to be like the only perfect person who walked this earth, we are called to be like Him. Within the first week of school, we were asked to write about our life’s philosophy. The primary content of that paper discussed my pathetic imitation of Jesus; how He loves people and I am called to do the same. That really is, I think, my goal in life: to be as much like Jesus as possible; to live nearly perfectly, to love wholeheartedly, to grow closer to my Father.

 

We should all be like Jesus. After all, we were made in God’s image. Why don’t we act like it?

 

We should not be conformed to the world, but to the likeness of his Son (Romans 8:29). Other verses encouraging us to be in the likeness of God are:

 

2 Corinthians 3:18

Galatians 4:19

Ephesians 4:13

Ephesians 4:22-24

 

Okay people, this is a hefty order. But I am definitely not asking you to be like him physically. You don’t need to master carpentry or wear a long robe or grow a beard. Simply be love. Because God is love. Simple, eh?

 

I love what the Message version says:

 

   Love never gives up. 
   Love cares more for others than for self. 
   Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. 
   Love doesn’t strut, 
   Doesn’t have a swelled head,
   Doesn’t force itself on others,
   Isn’t always “me first,”
   Doesn’t fly off the handle,
   Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.

 

Legit stuff.

 

So how many times a day do you say the word “love”?

I love that band.

I love those shoes.

I love her.

I love food.

I love to sing.

The list could go on for pages and pages. But there are so many times during the course of twenty four hours that we say “I love this” or “I love that”. We need to be more careful about how much we say “love” and analyze whether or not we really actually mean it. Love has become such a surface level word; and when interpreted different ways it can mean an ambiance of different things and emotions.

 

Okay, so God’s love is the agape love mentioned before. The hard core, perfect love that none of us can truly achieve while living here on earth in these imperfect bodies. We just aren’t even capable of the kind of love that God asks of us. All love ultimately comes from God.

This verse is fantastic in its attempt to portray the love God has for us-by comparing the number of thoughts He has for each one of us with each grain of sand in the whole world!

 

Psalm 139:17-18

¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
      They cannot be numbered!
 ¹⁸ I can’t even count them;
      they outnumber the grains of sand!

 

I’d say that’s a whole lot of lovin going on there. You think a lot about the people you love.

 

The way society depicts love is so skewed. Don’t believe in that junk. Live out the love that our Father has exemplified to us.

 

I read this in a book once. It’s like someone wrote their own version of the love verses in 1 Corinthians 13:

Love runs a marathon with blistered heels just to keep you company.

Love won’t take a break until you have what you need.

Love doesn’t get grumpy when you win the lottery but refuse to share a penny.

Love doesn’t act like a stranger just because you’ve got a big green booger in your nose.

Love, though perfect, isn’t full of itself.

Love doesn’t push itself into places where it is not invited.

Love never takes cuts in front of anyone.

Love doesn’t freak when you total your car.

Love doesn’t keep track of every single time you blow it.

Love doesn’t laugh when a jerk falls on his face.

Love doesn’t make the story bigger than it really is.

Love can be spat upon, beaten, murdered, and can still keep on loving.

Love trusts God implicitly.

Love sees the good even when you’re acting like a total loser.

Love doesn’t feel bad about what happened yesterday.

Love keeps running the until it reaches the end.

 

This is the standard that we must live by.

Living like that is living in God’s will.

Strive for that, my friend, and you will prosper.

–LEW

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