love – JLM in Euroclydon

The Wonder of Chesed

I gave serious consideration to titling this “IS LOVE LOVE?” which is a rearrangement of words of a phrase currently in common use. The thing about love is. . . it comes from many different words, some Greek, one Latin. Here are 9 of them.

Agápe brotherly love, charity; the love of God for person and of person for God. Agape is used in ancient texts to denote feelings for one’s children and the feelings for a spouse, and it was also used to refer to a love feast. In a couple months, I will be participating in a love feast when I take another Walk to Emmaus, this time working in the room that is called the Agape Chapel. It is a room where every one of the 50+ participants in a Walk to Emmaus retreat goes to be prayed over at one or more points during the weekend. There are usually 3-4 workers there who spend the entire 3 days praying, sometimes even staying overnight in the chapel praying when no one else is around. Sunday afternoon, following the closing ceremony every follower of Jesus leaves will a full serving of agape on board.
Éros love is romantic passion or love of the human body. This is the love that will be celebrated on Wednesday. It is also the cause of much sin.
Philia means affectionate regard, friendship, usually “between equals”. Philadelphia is called the city of brotherly love.
Storge means “love, affection especially of parents and children”. It is the common or natural empathy, like that felt by parents for offspring. I believe it is also a supernaturally augmented by God, and I certainly experienced it myself upon the birth of each of my children.
Philautia means “self-love”. To love oneself has been conceptualized both as a basic human necessity and as a moral flaw, akin to vanity and selfishness. We are instructed in the Bible to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mt 22:37-39). If we do not have love for ourself as a masterpiece of our great creator (Ps 139:14), what sort of love would we be giving our neighbor?
Xenia describes the concept of hospitality, “guest-friendship”, or “ritualized friendship”.

Dictionary.com adds in

Mania is an obsessive love such as the type of love a stalker feels toward his/her victim.

And

Pragma is love based on duty, obligation, or logic

Those are all Greek words. In addition, there is the Latin word

Ludus means playful love. This could be likened to children at play. I think it is also the type of love being felt when one expresses a profound appreciation of something; i.e., I love chesed.

Truly love is not love. There’s more to it than that.

Agape love is, of course, the love most closely resembling that of YHWH toward us. But if you think about some of the original words for love, storge and even mania could be aspects of His feeling toward us. Mania? Really. Look at Psalm 23:6, Ezekiel 34:11 and Rev 3:20.

I don’t quote all the scriptures here; please look them up. Maybe one of them will become so relevant to you at your current stage in life that you will return to it again and again inadvertently memorizing it without even realizing you are doing so.

There have been several verses over the course of my life of serving YHWH that have been life changing. They don’t even necessarily include passages such as the 23^rd Psalm, the Lord’s Prayer, or even John 3:16 although that one is our faith-defining verse. Here are some verses that have been life altering for me during different seasons of my life.

2 Timothy 1:7

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Jonah 2:8

Zephaniah 3:17

The one I’m using a lot right now is Romans 12:2

Each of these reads a bit differently in the translations I most enjoy. For example, the NASB translation of Jonah 2:8: “Those who are followers of worthless idols abandon their faithfulness.” I mean, that’s good, right? But it wouldn’t have necessarily leapt off the page at me in that translation. Now the OJB version: “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own chesed.”

Wow!

The word chesed is a Hebrew word which could also mean love, but really means so much more than that.

When I first read that verse, this is the picture my mind created.

That is, of course, not the type of vanity YHWH was speaking of when he gave Jonah these words. But I think it fits. The reflection you see looking in the mirror is the same image the world sees. It is chesed, though, that tells the truth, not vanity, not this vanity and not the vanities Jonah speaks of which translate into worthless idols. It is not even love or at least some of its forms.

For a more complete picture of the original meaning of Jonah 2:8, please visit https://claudemariottini.com/2010/03/16/forsaking-their-%E2%80%9Chesed%E2%80%9D/ written by Claude Mariottini. It provides one of the best explanations of chesed (sometimes spelled with an “h” instead of a “ch”) I’ve read AND will explain why I think chesed is a superior word to love.

When you are comparing Bible translations, you should always do so under guidance of Holy Spirit. Here’s one good reason.

Recently I came across the following on FB posted by a renowned worship leader I follow. “With my whole heart, with my whole life, and with my innermost being, I bow in wonder and love before you, the holy God! YAHWEH, you are my soul’s celebration. How could I ever forget the miracles of kindness you’ve done for me? You kissed my heart with forgiveness, in spite of all I’ve done. You’ve healed me inside and out from every disease. You’ve rescued me from hell and saved my life. You’ve crowned me with love and mercy. You satisfy my every desire with good things. You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again like a flying eagle in the sky!”

Surely she was citing the words to one of the worship songs she wrote. Then I discovered that was not the case. She was quoting Psalm 103:1-5. I LOVED (ludus, anyone?) it, but having read the Psalms many times, I didn’t recall ever reading those words there. Then I saw the translation she was using. The Passion Translation.

This has been in past years one of my favorites, and I used it frequently in sermons.

However, in 2022 Bible Gateway, which I also use a lot, made the decision to remove The Passion Translation from its list of 90 English translations/paraphrases. The Living Bible and The Message, both of which are considered paraphrases rather than translations, are still present on Bible Gateway. When I was a teenager I received something called “The Way” as a gift from my parents. It’s the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs in the Living Bible which was at the time considered a translation. Not relevant, but don’t the 2 guys on the bottom look like Kevin Tighe and Randolph Mantooth from Emergency?

The difference between a translation and a paraphrase?

I couldn’t really find a reasonable explanation on a google search, but this is what I believe which may or not be correct. A translation takes the original text and translates it into the English language (or the language of the reader) using the same words. A paraphrase takes the original text and rewrites it to convey the presumed meaning of the original text. This makes the rendering of the paraphrase open to the interpretation of the one who compiles it. . . and. . . it may not completely reflect YHWH’s thoughts. Bible Gateway deems that both the Living Bible and The Message are acceptable but not The Passion Translation. Why?

The gist of the reasoning behind this seems to be that

The Passion Translation’s creator maintains it is a translation rather than a paraphrase.
He states his intention in its creation was to quote “expand the essential meaning of the original language by highlighting the essence of God’s original message” endquote.

Do not those 2 things contradict one another?

So, in recent years I’ve been using TPT as a devotional rather than the Word of God. Devotionals are helpful in gaining a better understanding of God and His Word. Devotionals are not the Word of God.

Here is another example of TPT text.

“Pray like this: ‘Our Beloved Father, dwelling in the heavenly realms, may the glory of your name be the center on which our lives turn. Manifest your kingdom realm, and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven. We acknowledge you as our Provider of all we need each day. Forgive us the wrongs we have done as we ourselves release forgiveness to those who have wronged us. Rescue us every time we face tribulation and set us free from evil. For you are the King who rules with power and glory forever. Amen.’”

Did you recognize those words?

They are the Passion Translation version of the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13. One phrase does not appear in any form in the version of The Lord’s Prayer we use which comes from the Book of Common Prayer and most closely resembles the words found in the New Matthew Bible (that’s a new one for me that I need to check out) translation. Nor does this phrase appear in any other Bible translation.

“Rescue us from every tribulation.”

This illustrates a possible explanation for why Bible Gateway no longer provides TPT in any of its 90 Bible translations/paraphrases. One only has to look at the situations faced by Christians in other countries, particularly 3^rd world countries, to see that God does not always “rescue us from tribulation”.

Clearly, there are a lot of Bibles out there, especially in America. If you are a Christian, Holy Spirit lives within you; but is He leading you? He will not steer you wrong regarding the Word of God. I don’t believe He has steered me wrong in choosing chesed over love.

These 3 human beings, all Valentine’s babies, showed me chesed to the best of their abilities:

On the left is my father-in-law by my first marriage, in the middle is my wonderful Rod, and on the right is my Grandma Stauffer who died when I was 7 years old. Now they are members of the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1-2) cheering me on.

On Wednesday, when you think about the day that we celebrate, remember the word chesed and that it not only means the versions of love that we could attribute to YHWH but it includes mercy, grace, faithfulness, true loyalty, commitment, covenant, and even the Creator, YHWH Himself. There is capital T Truth to the statement God is chesed and, therefore, chesed is chesed; and it is truly wonderful.

Shalom.

Extravagant Love

I originally wrote this in 2015. A few months later the BFF struggling with Alzheimer’s went to be with Jesus; a few months after that my angel Rod followed her. I hardly recognized the positive person who wrote what follows. Dear Father, help me find her again . . .

I John 3:1 (The Voice) Consider the kind of extravagant love the Father has lavished on us—He calls us children of God! It’s true; we are His beloved children

Ephesians 5:2 (The Message) Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.

Last night, I attended a bridal shower/Pampered Chef party. There were probably a dozen ladies squeezed into the moderate-size dining and living rooms. At one point, someone brought up my battle with cancer, and I told the group I am currently cancer free. The Pampered Chef dealer, who is more friend than acquaintance, commented that had been a real trial in my life. I agreed but told her it was pretty far down on the list of life storms I’ve encountered in the current century. She seemed a bit taken aback by that. How could anything be worse than a cancer that nearly took my life more than once?

I gave the matter considerable thought during the 15-minute drive home. Why was that particular battle so far down on my list of “really bad things”?

Number one on my really-bad-things list is, of course, loved ones away from the Lord. I’ve taken Jeremiah 31:16-17 as my Rhema Word, my personal promise from God, concerning my children and step-children. Those verses say that “my eyes” will see my children return from the enemy’s land. Note it doesn’t say my spiritual eyes. Although I know my Father is well aware of these words in His Bible, I try to remind Him about them frequently.

Number two was the suicide of my father.

Number three was my divorce from the father of my children.

Number four is mental illness experienced by me and several loved ones.

Cancer is number five.

And that’s only talking about what’s happened in the past 15 years. There were some things from much farther back in my life which would go higher on the list.

Why?

How dare I treat cancer—a terrible disease with which so many have struggled, are struggling, or even have succumbed to—as a lesser evil than some of the other items listed above.

Love.

It’s the only explanation I can come up with.

Item #1 on the really-bad-things list occurs when someone rejects God’s love.

Item #2 occurs when a spouse is rejected by his/her mate. The spouse’s love is rejected by the mate. The mate’s love, for whatever reason, has died.

Item #3 occurs when a person chooses to reject the love of God and the love of everyone else in his/her life.

Item #4 occurs when a mind, either through disease or abuse, becomes incapable of rational thought and will sometimes reject the love of God and other people. Item #3 is the most serious extreme of this.

Cancer, though? Most people who are victims of this are innocent victims having done nothing to bring about the situation. They haven’t necessarily rejected love.

In my own experience with cancer, I was surrounded by love. First the love of my Heavenly Father whose mighty hands guided the human hands of my caretakers, the love of Jesus who sat one night in a rocking chair next to my hospital bed to keep me company, and the Holy Spirit whose Presence I could sense even in the lowest of lows physically.

Then there was the love of people.

My husband was so angry at the devil for bringing this upon me that many of his friends were more worried and prayed more fervently about his emotional state than my physical one. And, although he admittedly hates to read, he would often read to me out of the Bible, was quick to do so whenever I asked. He is a concrete truck driver, my illness occurred in July and August, the busiest time of year for that business, but he would always rush home from work, shower, drive another 30 minutes to get to the hospital, and spend the evening with me. His love, in part, is what drug me, sometimes kicking and screaming, back into the land of the living.

My mother. If anything, she was even more stubborn than my husband in refusing to let me loose my sometimes fragile hold on earthly life. Her love was the perfect mother’s love.

My children. My son, as a man, is not real comfortable with expressing his emotions. But he visited enough during my sickness there was no doubt that he loved me. My daughter rode in the ambulance with me en route to my second hospital stay. She worried about me. She researched everything she could find on the internet about my form of cancer and learned that at the time I had a 5-year mortality rate of 60%. Next July will be my 5-year-mark, and I have remained cancer free.

My sisters. Before my first surgery, I charged both of them with the task of assuming motherhood for my children should anything go wrong. They both tearfully but willingly accepted the assignment, promising to love and pray for my kids as though they were their own.

My best friends. One of them was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. She would repeat to me over and over during this time that “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” Amazing. The other BFF was at my house the day after my first release from the hospital bearing a beautiful gift, a large piece of art which read, “Faith is not believing that God can answer prayer; it is knowing that He WILL.” It has a prominent position in my house on the wall above the archway between my living room and kitchen, a constant reminder of what my soul frequently forgets.

My doctors. Although I wouldn’t go so far as to say any of them “loved” me, the care they felt for me was tangible. They were concerned not just with my physical health but with my emotional well being.

My pastor and his wife. Pastor Larry visited me several times throughout all three of my hospitalizations. He was there for every surgical procedure. Wendy and the children came with him once during my second hospital stay. He visited me during my homebound convalescence. He prayed with me. Those times were times when the supernatural peace of God flooded my being. No matter the aches and downright pain I was feeling in so many places on my body; no matter the fact that a stranger had taken up residence in my head; there could be no discounting that overwhelming sense of well-being and—dare I say it—joy! that permeated my soul after those prayers.

Even my husband’s boss. Dan loves Rod; there’s no doubt about that. He also loves my sister, Jessie, who manages the office of his concrete plant. He barely knew me. But one day he visited me in the hospital when no one else was there. Taking a seat in the chair next to the bed, he told me he was very worried about Jessie. He told me flat out he didn’t know if I would live or die. He was the only person ever brave enough to tell me that; he knew I didn’t fear death. Indeed, I feared more the unknown entity of the stranger in my head than going to live with Jesus. Dan reminded me I needed to consider how Jessie, and others, would handle the situation if the outcome of my illness was not the one they were praying for. Toward that end he left me a packet of short scriptures on cards and a cute little stand to place them on. I kept the same scripture right in front of me on the hospital tray throughout the remainder of that hospital stay.

So . . . love.

That’s the difference between items 1-4 and item #5. Although love was undoubtedly present in each of those situations, it was soooo hard to find. Remember that in your sharing love with God and the people He has placed in your life. Don’t be stingy with your love. It’s not like you can ever use it all up.

Be extravagant.

What do you think it means to love extravagantly. How does such a thing feel?
Have you ever been the recipient of this type of love?
What will you do today to show this love to
1. A family member?
1. A friend?
1. A stranger?