"I think God wants us to love Him more, not to love others less"- CS Lewis
At bible study today, we talked about something that I had honestly never been introduced to before...the three types of love that appear in the Bible: Ahava, Dod, and Raya. Nate, our youth pastor, explained these Hebrew terms so clearly. Ahava (an emotion and leads to a lifelong decision), Dod (a lover or to carouse), and Raya (a best friend or a committed companion). "Love," our truly insufficient English word, is something so much more than mere kindness or a 'fuzzy feeling.' God IS love. He IS Ahava. So why can't we be as passionate about other people? Or at least to the God who is already passionate towards us? Jesus, save me.
"In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" -1 John 4:10-11
What a great reminder. The love that God loves us with is so much bigger and more intense than anything this world has to offer. And if we allow ourselves to be filled and changed by that love, we'll love other people with that love. Sign me up!
ReplyDeleteCrystal! I just realized that you can comment on these :) I agree. And thank you so much for doing small group with us this summer...it has been such an encouragement to me.
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