Love must be the heartbeat of everything we say and do if we are one with Christ. If you take love out of Christianity you are left with a set of rules, a list of do’s and don’ts and rights and wrongs. This misses the heartbeat of God. God is love – true love, not an ooey gooey feeling. The Passion Translation says we are to express ourselves with love. There is a lengthy note on verse one in The Passion Translation and I believe it is important to write it out here. There is so much going on in my heart. I’m not sure I’ll be able to express it completely here, but I will try. The note says: The Aramaic word for love is hooba, and it is a homonym that also means “to set on fire”. It is difficult to fully express the meaning of this word and translate it into English. You could say the Aramaic concept is “burning love” or “fiery love”, coming from the inner depths of the heart as an eternal energy, an active power of bonding hearts and lives in secure relationships. The Greek word is agape, which describes the highest form of love. It is the love God has for his people. It is an intense affection that must be demonstrated. It is a loyal, endless, and unconditional commitment of love. Feelings are attached to this love. It is not abstract but devoted to demonstrating the inward feelings of love toward another with acts of kindness and benevolence.
There is so much spinning around in my head on this topic, but I am having a hard time getting it out. The note talking about fiery love made me think of the four levels of existence or the four spiritual worlds. We have been talking about them in services lately. The four levels, in ascending order are: Assiah, Yetzirah, Briah, and Atziluth. We have related them to the four elements as well: earth, air, water, fire. So, I was thinking of fiery love and Atziluth being the level related to fire. This is a level of oneness with God.
One of the Hebrew words for love is ‘ahav’ or ‘ahab’. This word is spelled aleph, hey, beth. I decided to look up the meanings of those letters. As Hebrew letters have multiple meanings, I have just chosen a few. Aleph represents the oneness of God. Hey represents the divine breath, revelation, and light (light and fire are synonymous). Beth represents a house – the dwelling place. So, to me, this word ‘love’ speaks of the oneness of God, the Divine Fire, in us – His dwelling place. When we express love, we are expressing the oneness of God, the Divine Fire, through us.
We can say and do all the right things, but if it is not done in love the effect is irritation. All the spiritual power in the world means nothing without love. Our gifts don’t define us, love does. Without love at the core of our being, nothing we can achieve by doing good deeds is of value. The Message Bible says we are bankrupt without love.
I love the beginning of verse 3 in the Mirror Bible: ‘Love is not about defending a point of view.’ Too often we defend our point of view to prove we are right. This is not operating in love. Love doesn’t have to defend itself; it just keeps loving. If you want a great example of this in the Bible, look at the life of Jesus.
Love consistently thinks of others first. Love is patient and gentle. It does not brag on self but is excited when others succeed. Love focuses on the positive rather than the negative. Love is all about life. Love chooses not to hold grudges. Love is about honesty, not right and wrong. I love the start of verse 7 in the Mirror Bible: ‘Love is a fortress where everyone feels protected rather than exposed!’ Love is safe.
Because God created us in His image and likeness, if God is love (and we know He is) then we are love. Having said that, you can personalize this by switching out the word love with I. I am going to do this now for verses 4-7 using The Passion Translation. I am large and incredibly patient. I am gentle and consistently kind to all. I refuse to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. I do not brag about my achievements or inflate my own importance. I do not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek my own honor. I am not easily irritated or quick to take offense. I joyfully celebrate honesty and I find no delight in what is wrong. I am a safe place of shelter, for I never stop believing the best for others. I never take failure as defeat for I never give up.
Love is an eternal force. It never stops. There is always more of God to explore. Do not try to figure God out. Just be willing to journey with Him. Don’t be afraid to go into the unknown with God.
Until we come into that complete oneness with Him, we are told of three vital things: faith, hope, and love, with the emphasis being put on love. May we love well. Choose to walk out love. Love is not just something we say. Love is who we are. It’s what we do. And as Bob Goff says so well, we are to love everybody, always.
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