Love is in the air… Or at least in the shop windows and TV commercials…
February is a month notoriously known for its overpriced Valentine’s day gifts, be it chocolates, flowers, jewellery, or whatever the current ‘it’ item to have maybe. There’s not much I can tell you about St Valentine that you don’t already know, or can’t find out with a quick google search. What I can tell you is that since the middle ages, he’s been associated with a tradition of courtly love, emphasizing nobility and chivalry…
Unfortunately, Valentine’s day nowadays is not emphasizing nobility or chivalry, rather gifts to express some form of love, many times in a very intimate manner. More and more, our society talks about love, but I’ve started to wonder, what is it that we call love? What describes our love? How serious are we about love? It seems that we love our coffee, we love shopping, we love a great steak, and then we love our partners as well. The English language is limited in its available words for love, whereas ancient Greek, the language the New Testament is written in, has four different words: agápe (love of God for man, and man for God), éros (intimate and even sexual love), philia (friendship love, among equals), and storge (love and affection, usually between parents and children). I wonder if there is a need for us to re-evaluate what love we are celebrating, and what that even means to us.
There’s a passage in the bible, that is incredibly common at weddings, 1Corinthians 13:4-8, as it describes what love should be like between those getting married, and may I suggest, those that we love in general. The passage says this:
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.8 Love never fails.
The Apostle Paul, the writer of this particular part of the Bible, was not intending this to be a reading at weddings. His intention is to say, that no matter how gifted people may be, no matter what they may be bringing to the table, if they do it without love, if they don’t have love, it’s pointless; he then goes on to describe how deep this love is, and what it looks like. Interestingly, the original Greek word for love in this passage is that of agápe, Gods love for man, and man’s love for God.
While I believe it is important for us to love others with those qualities, of kindness, lack of envy and pride, and so on, I think there is something greater for us to take from it. That amazing description of love describes the love that God has for you, for me, for us. You may or may not have experienced that kind of love in your lifetime, I don’t know, but I’d like you to know that it’s there for you. It’s scary to explore big questions, big topics, something as vast as God, but know that when you do, you are exploring a God of love, as described above.
So this month, while you are out buying flowers, and chocolates, thinking of how to woo your other half, let me encourage you to maybe pop into a church, and explore the love that God has for you, and how that might transform you and the life you live.
I know we’d love (philia love, for those of you keeping tabs) to meet you, and welcome you in, so don’t hesitate to get in touch, be it for a chat, a drink, or to explore something bigger.
ARTICLE ORIGINALLY PRINTED IN THE FEBRUARY 2017 EDITION OF THE GAMLINGAY GAZZETTE.
Simple Faith 