Have you ever known the Love of God? Is it possible? Is it real? Have you ever fallen upon your knees, begging Jesus to save your child, your marriage, your wife?
Has He healed you of cancer, protected you in a car accident, or led you to a safe place? Has He provided medical help, a car, or a home?
For many who are Believers, who live lives devoted to following the leadership of Christ, in prayer and through the reading of the Word — these miracles are not unusual occurrences. Rather, they are what is to be expected. In their hearts and minds is the Love of God. And the Love of God is His Law. And the Law of God surpasses and is above all other law.
In the Gospel of Matthew 22, verse 37, a great debate is going on about the Law, between a Pharisaical lawyer and Jesus. Jesus tells the lawyer that the greatest commandment God gives is to love Him first, with everything we have within us—heart, soul, and mind.
This verse comes right out of the Old Testament as well, Deuteronomy 6:5:
"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” ~Moses (NASB) This book and verse were written in Hebrew; the word for love is 'ahab—the definition includes the kind of love we should have for The Lord.(Strong’s #H157)
The word used for love in the New Testament is listed as an old Greek word, agapa? -- to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly. (Strong’s #G25)
“And a second is like it, You shall love (agapa?) your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend (hang) all the law and the prophets.” ~Jesus (Matthew 22: 39-40, NOAB)
We are not told to love others more than ourselves. Neither are we told to love ourselves more than others. We are to love others as we love ourselves. As the Holy Spirit lives within the Believer, so does God’s love. When we express agapa? love to others, we are giving them God’s love.
Article comments
1 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
Interesting perspectives!
2 - Kelly Jad'on
Hello Joseph--Thank you for your kind comment. I see that you are still writing and doing quite well. :)
3 - Dr. Joseph S. Maresca
Thanks for the words of encouragement.
4 - Rodney Bowen
Good afternoon,
Having just recently discovered your book review of "The Perfect Love of God", I wanted to touch base to determine how I may submit the new faith-based, non-fiction book titled, Embracing Obscurity from B&H Publishing.
Please review the following information for Embracing Obscurity and let me know by this Thursday (8/23/2012) whether you are interested in reviewing this unique book on your website as well.
Sincerely,
Rodney Bowen
[personal contact info deleted by comments editor]
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Watch the Embracing Obscurity Video
Unimportance: Surprisingly Good for the Soul
It's not self-confidence that humans lack, it's that we have too much self-importance, says an author who , by virtue of that, has chosen to remain anonymous. Or Anonymous.
"We have such a high opinion of ourselves that to live and die unnoticed seems a grave injustice. Yet, has God called us to be anything else?" The very challenge, the very calling, is in fact to embrace obscurity. "When we accept that our value is not dependent on what we do or accomplish, we are - ironically - liberated to do much for Christ."
Finding that ability - to think little of ourselves - is the topic of the eye-opening book Embracing Obscurity: Becoming Nothing in Light of God's Everything (B&H Publishing Group, 978-1-4336-7781-6). Arguably so counter to the desire of humans to "make a mark" on the world, Anonymous argues for the exact opposite, an about face that means rejecting the world's views of significance.
"One of the greatest ironies of all time is that when we give up the hope of earthly fame and fortune, and instead embrace the obscurity of a life given in service to Christ, we are immediately touched with immortality and assured of eternal glory. By Christ's own decree, we should be no more defined by the world than He is. Ours should be a different embrace."
Embracing Obscurity is a call to action to recalibrate the strangling embrace of the world to God's standards for God's glory. Too frightening to put away definitions of achievement, success, and reward and replace them with new ones? The alternative is to allow our intoxication with the world draw us away from our Maker and His mission - an epidemic so common most of us do not even know we are under the influence, says the author.
Those radical enough to embrace obscurity will journey far from the spotlight, towards sacrifice, humility, significance in the Spirit, servant hood, and the mystery of Christ's becoming nothing to glorify the Father (Phil. 2:5-11).