Skip to main content

God is Love 4


 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
(I Corinthians 13:13)
 
                              Mr. Grudem brings two characteristics together to provide the next balance. God is both infinite and personal. “He is infinite in that he is not subject to any of the limitations of humanity, or of creation in general. He is far greater than everything he has made, far greater than anything that exists. But he is also personal: he interacts with us as a person, and we can relate to him as persons. We can pray to him, worship him, obey him, and love him, and he can speak to us, rejoice in us, and love us.” (Systematic Theology, p. 167)
         He then goes on to compare God to the gods of other religions, beginning with the Romans. I want to mention the Roman gods in a slightly different context. As I’m thinking about it, there were gods of lots of things, but the goddess of love, Venus, was within the major pantheon. There was a god of hate, usually the god in charge of the underworld, sibling or half-sibling of Jupiter (or some such) and part of the old ruling family, but love was included among the heavy hitters of the Romans (and Greeks.)
          Love may be celebrated even more (but perhaps no more wisely) now.
We’re told
Love is love
Love conquers all
Love will keep us together
All we need is love, love, love[1]
Love is a many splendored thing
What the world needs now, is love, sweet love
We hear hate-filled screams of “love trumps hate.”
We think “But I love him/her” defeats any other argument.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
 love. (I Corinthians 13:13)
          I could quote lyrics, poets, and people for hours. The point is that we recognize that no matter how finite we are, love is not. I conclude that love  is infinite. And yet, it is personal. It involves people, touches people, influences people.[2]
         

[1] And then, they broke up the band.
[2] I’m not saying that animals are incapable of love, but even with animals, it’s “personal” in that it involves relationships. That doesn’t mean that animals are people any more than the fact that an elephant can love makes anything that loves an elephant.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Especially to those who belong to the family of believers."

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Gal 6:10)   “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.   By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)           Joshua grinned when he saw Rex standing by the door, studying something on the ground. "Hey, man! Are we ready to do this thing?"          Rex looked up. "Josh, I can't do it. We're still best buds, but I can't stand your fiancée."           I've met "Rex" many times. I've been Rex. Joshua (Jesus) loves the Church. He's not a fool. He knows the Church is far from perfect, but she is His chosen bride. The Rexes of this world, who think themselves His friend, turn away from her. "You don't need the Church to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ssssssubmmissssssionnn

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ . (Ephesians 5:21)             "Ssssssubmmisssssssionnn." Can't you just hear the serpent hissing this most horrible of words? If you listen to the serpent or the world, submission means groveling, allowing yourself to be abused, denying yourself your own humanity. Nothing could be worse than submission, could it?             Submission has never been a problem for me, as long as things are going the way I want them to. The rest of the time? Well, let's just say that while I don't know how to fight physically, I don't know how to not fight mentally. One of the fights I've been having with myself for years is about submission.             My first breakthrough took place on a trip to a bookstore. As I walked into the store, my thoughts were very clear. 1) I was goi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shark Fins, Triple Dog Dares, Heroes, Villains and Sidekicks

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)            There's a scene in Jaws in which someone sees a shark fin and starts a panic. As   all the swimmers scramble to shore, boats surround the fin, which falls over to reveal two kids. With several guns pointed at them, one of the kids points at the other. The message is clear: it was his idea. In Christmas Story, there's a scene in which one kid "triple dog dares" another to do something stupid. Since it's a triple dog dare, well, what choice does the boy have? There doesn't seem to be any end to the trouble that peer pressure can cause. ...
Post a Comment
Read more