Thought for Today
Exodus 20:5 I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
Luke 6:32 "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them . . . 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
If you were asked to choose 1 single word with which to summarize life, philosophy, theology and all of reality, what 1 word would you choose? Before you answer too quickly, think about your choice carefully.
I am a Christian. I am a Protestant minister. The denomination which ordained me refers to my position as a Minister of Word and Sacrament and sometimes as a Teaching Elder. Certainly, I should be expected to choose the word love. If you follow these Thoughts, you know how often I quote, “Luke 10:27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Love seems almost an obligatory answer for me to offer as a one-word summation of life and its meaning. After all, the word love appears 310-574 times in the Bible translations in my computer software. Ironically, however, the first appearance I found was not until Genesis 22. Were love the 1 single word with which to summarize life and God’s Creation, I would expect it to occur much earlier, maybe somewhere in the Creation story.
Love certainly plays an important role in life. More so for some of us than for others. In English, love encompasses a wide range of emotions. The Greek of the Bible has several different words we translate as love. In Jesus’ response in Luke 10:27, the verb used is ἀγαπάω . . . love, especially of love as based on evaluation and choice, a matter of will and action” (Friberg, Analytical Greek Lexicon) That verb, and its noun cognate, are the most commonly encountered words for love in the New Testament. That noun, ἀγάπη, is sometimes transliterated as agape, and is familiar to many Christians.
If love is the best one-word summation of life and its meaning, it seems to me that our world should reflect love. Listen to the news reports, read the newspapers, look at the world all around us. Does our world reflect love? Does our world represent the God who loved the world so much God sent God’s son into God’s world (John 3:16)? Do we live in a world that seems to value love? Is success in our world defined by the love in our lives? Have any of you ever had a job or career where you were rewarded with raises and/or promotions because of the love reflected in your performance in that job or career?
I cannot imagine any answer to those questions other than “NO!” So where is the disconnect? We know from the Creation story in Genesis that “1:10 God saw that it was good.” We also know from the New Testament that Jesus told his disciples, “Matthew 24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.” They did and we still do. As we look at our world today, we also know that not all wars are fought by armies with bombs, ships and planes. Some wars are carried out with the violence on our city streets. Some wars are being fought against droughts, fires, tornados, and other natural disasters. We do see love reflected in the dedication and self-sacrifice of some of the combatants. First responders of all ilk’s do reflect love, love for each other and love for our Creator God (even when they do not believe in God).
Personally, I can say that my own life is filled with love. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for more than 60 years. I have loving children and grandchildren. I serve a community of faith which represents great love for each other and for the community in which we worship. We have loving friends and neighbors. I know and serve that loving God of John 3:16. I am blessed to be surrounded by those who have heard Jesus’ answer and who do love God and each other.
Maybe the answer for our world is for us all to hear Jesus’ Great Commission, “Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Love, teach love, trust God,
Pastor Ray