As you read all this information, please remember, Meaningless! Meaningless! says the teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 1:2) But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:4-5) The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. (Galatians 5:6)
I’ve noticed how everyone has their own idea or preconceptions of what a person of God might look and act like. It’s a good thing God doesn’t judge us as self-righteously as we tend to judge others. It seems like most people relate to somebody either personally or through the media who in their opinion exemplifies a person of God, whether they like that person or not. If anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother (a fellow Christian), he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, who he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1John 4:20-21)
People like to compare themselves with other people to boost their own self-image. They also like comparing one with another. No one should compare themselves with anyone or compare anyone with anyone else to justify their own self-righteousness. If someone feels compelled to compare, then compare yourself to Jesus Christ and see just how far off you are. Don’t compare another person to Jesus Christ and in doing so cast judgment on that person. If any comparisons are done, they should only be with yourself and Jesus. God will choose whomever He wants; to do whatever He wants. The Apostle (meaning; one sent) Paul, before he was called by God, at one time was standing nearby giving the approval of those who were stoning Stephen to death (Acts 7:60). David, chosen by God to be the king of Israel, who in the millennium will be Jesus’ right hand man (Ezekiel 37:25, 44:3), lusted after Bathsheba and sent her husband to be killed in battle so that he could have her (2Samuel 11:15). I can go on and on showing the human faults of those whom God has chosen, but it’s not for us to judge God’s decisions and besides, those of God’s chosen who were in error were meant as an example to teach the rest of us a lesson. If you compare yourself to others, there’s going to be someone out there who makes you feel good about yourself; even if you are insecure about yourself. Be happy with who you are and let others be happy with who they are. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. (Galatians 6:4-5)
As long as we’re judging, we’re not loving. There are some people that will jump right on that statement to justify their own self-righteousness. I say, use your common sense. If you have to make a decision, publicly or privately, in court or in the home to keep some kind of order, it’s your job to judge that which is best for all. Just as well, judging in this way works best when guided by Love.
Some preachers show their ignorance and self-righteousness when they knit-pick on what kind of love I may be talking about. They say in the Bible there are three different loves that are translated just as love in the English. There is: erotic love (eros), brotherly love (phileo) and godly love (agape) or unconditional love. We are incapable of attaining a true godly love. That would be perfection and we are far from perfect. However we must be always trying to achieve that level of love through the examples in the ministry of Jesus. Again, I say, use your common sense. What is the subject matter? Love your enemies, and Love your neighbor does not mean go and commit adultery and fornicate. It means accept everyone for who they are and treat them as you would want them to treat you. Put yourself in their shoes and see how you look in their eyes. Let your heart melt with compassion to understand and assist.
In my studies of the Bible I have found eighteen different loves translated to just love. All together, I’ve found thirty-one different words translated to either: love, loved, loves, lovely, lover and loving. Nowhere have I found the word eros translated to love in the Bible. The following list are all the different words in the Bible translated to a form of love. The numbers (for example: #157) are as the words are ordered in the Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary.
Old Testament references:
- 1. #157 - ahab (aw-hab) a prime root - To have affection.
- 2. #158 - ahab (ah-hab) from 157 - affection
- 3. #159 - ohab (o-hab) same as 158 - love
- 4. #160 - ahabah (a-hab-aw) fem. of 158 - love
- 5. #1730 - dod (dode) prop. to boil, i.e. (fig.) to love; by impl. a love-token, lover or friend
- 6. #2245 - chabab (khaw-bab) prop. to hide i.e. to cherish (with affection): love
- 7. #2836 - chashaq (khaw-shak) prime root - to cling, i.e. to join, (fig.) to love, to delight in
- 8. #2896 - towb (tobe) adj. good - in the widest sense ...loving
- 9. #3039 - yediyd (yed-eed) same as 1730 - loved; amiable, (well-) beloved
- 10. #4261 - machmad (makh-mawd) delightful; hence a delight, i.e. object of affection...
- 11. #5690 - egeb (eh-gheb) love (concr.), i.e. amative words - much love
- 12. #5691 - agabah (ag-aw-baw) love (abstr.), i.e. amorousness: - inordinate love
- 13. #7355 - racham (raw-kham) prime root - to fondle; by impl. to love...
- 14. #7474 - rayah (rah-yaw) a female associate: - love
- 15. #7453 - reya (rey ah) an associate, companion, brother, friend, lover, etc.
New Testament references:
- 1. #25 - agapao (ag-ap-ah-o) to love (in a social or moral sense)
- 2. #26 - agape (ag-ah-pay) love, i.e. affection or benevolence
- 3. #2309 - thelo (thel-o) by Heb. to delight in: - desire, have rather...
- 4. #4375 - prosphiles (pros-fee-lace) friendly towards, i.e. acceptable: - lovely
- 5. #5358 - philagathos (fil-ag-ath-os) fond of good, i.e. a promoter of virtue
- 6. #5360 - philadelphia (fil-ad-el-fee-ah) fraternal affection: - brotherly love
- 7. #5361 - philadelphos (fil-ad-el-fos) fond of brethern, i.e. fraternal
- 8. #5362 - philandros (fil-an-dros) fond of man, i.e. affectionate as a wife
- 9. #5363 - philanthropia (fil-an-thro-pee-ah) fondness of mankind, i.e. benevolence
- 10. #5365 - philarguria (fil-ar-goo-ree-ah) avarice: - love of money
- 11. #5367 - philautos (fil-ow-tos) fond of self, i.e. selfish, lover of own self
- 12. #5368 - phileo (fil-eh-o) to be a friend to (fond of an individual or object)
- 13. #5377 - philotheos (fil-oth-eh-os) fond of God, i.e. pious: - lover of God
- 14. #5382 - philoxenos (fil-ox-en-os) fond of guests, i.e. hospitable
- 15. #5383 - philoproteuo (fil-op-rote-yoo-o) to be fond of being first, i.e. ambitious
- 16. #5388 - philoteknos (fil-ot-ek-nos) fond of ones children, i.e. maternal
And this is love (#26): that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. (2John :6) But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. (Matthew 23:11) Whosoever therefore will humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:4) One cannot serve unless one is filled with love and one cannot be filled with God’s love unless one humbles himself or herself.
The Love I’m talking about covers a multitude of sins. As a matter of fact, it is impossible to sin while you’re walking in the Spirit of Love. God is Love, Jesus is God, Jesus is Love; give Him the credit. Without God, there is no Love. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is Love (#26). (1John 4:8)
When a person discovers the awesome Love the Lord has to give they feel compelled to share this new found Love with others. Unfortunately to the non-believer, because some associate Christianity as a Fire and Brimstone religion, the newly born-again baby Christian in ignorance, while full of zeal, sometimes becomes a little overwhelming. I know this because I’ve been on both sides of the born-again experience. I’ve found that some religious people, mostly the Christian fundamentalists, are like ex-smokers. If you ask anyone who smokes they’ll say the worst harassing they get for smoking comes from people who have kicked the habit. The zeal of the ex-smoker is much like the zeal of a reborn Christian. I don’t mean to sound like I’m bashing reborn Christians. If this thought offends you then just relax. An ex-smoker is someone who used to smoke; they’ve been there; done that. Some ex-smokers feel like they have to go on a crusade whenever they get the opportunity to give their testimony. Likewise, a reborn Christian is someone who has made a step toward improving their life. They too, like the ex-smoker, feel the urge to share the testimony of their life. This not only applies to reborn Christians and ex-smokers but anyone who feels a strong desire to save others from their potential mistakes or misfortunes. They’re to the point of pushing what works for them onto you. What they’re really saying is, "Don’t be how I was, be how I am." They’ve graduated to the platform of self-righteousness. Even though their intentions may be good, they’re not allowing others to experience life and learn from the same mistakes and trials as they have experienced. Again, use your common sense.
The powers of authority in this world want to control you so that you do not do anything considered by the self-righteous majority, politically incorrect or self-destructive. It tries to confuse and alienate you from knowing your Father God while it eats away at your helpless, ignorant soul. The world wants to believe it has more control over its inhabitants than God, but God is in control. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12) Think about it. One way to look at this is that we wrestle not against certain individuals, but against the spiritual influences motivating those individuals. While on the cross, Jesus said, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) ...And most people don’t.
This is what I know: I serve a Perfect God, who is Perfect in every way possible including an incomprehensible, unimaginable Love for His children. I know that we are the children of a Perfect God who makes perfect children; not necessarily in behavior, but in order, constitution and sustenance. This world we live in is not perfect and could not have been in God’s original plan for His children. There’s a reason for becoming a mortal human being before dying and going on to the after-life.