Love is a Verb
The readings this weekend are arguably some of the most important in scripture. Yet, the bottom line is found in very few words.
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord, our God, is Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The key is love. That is not new news to any Jew or Christian. The challenge is in understanding the meaning of love in the Hebrew Scriptures and the words and actions of Jesus in the New Testament. Many of us are familiar with the different words for love in the Scriptures. Eros is passionate love. Phileo is brotherly love. Agape is Godly love. The love we are called to is agape, a Godly love.
It is interesting to know that the word used in the scriptures is not agape but rather agapao. The difference is simple and yet dramatic. Agape is a noun. Agapao is a verb, and by its verbal nature, it calls for action. This quality of agapao is not an emotion. It is an action initiated by a choice of will. It is deciding and choosing to love.
When we live out the command to love, it demands not a state of mind. Instead, it requires that we choose to love without condition, and we decide to do it actively. When we think of love as agape, a noun, it stays in our mind. It is as we learned in school; a noun is a person, place, or thing. So yes, agape is a thing. But that is not enough. Maybe an example will help. Patience is a noun. I can understand what patience means and what patience looks like. I know it when I see it. However, if I am going to be patient as a verb it requires, I put into action all that I know patience is.
Agape is understanding the unconditional love of God, the love God has for us, the love He had for His Son. We are told that the commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. What we are called to is Agapao. We are commanded to live love as a verb, not a noun. The love Jesus calls us to is the love He knew from His Father. The unconditional love that exists beyond all human understanding. Agapao is the command we are given above all others. Our love must be robust, beyond human limits, and vibrant. To fulfill the greatest commandment, we cannot be complacent, distant, discerning, or reserved in our loving.
How do we learn to love as God loves without condition? Very often, our human loving is caught up in emotion. To love as God loves removes emotion from the equation, and I love because I decide to love. I love even when someone hurts me. I love even when I am disgusted by the actions, beliefs, or attitudes of the other. I love because that is God’s command. However, when I find myself passing judgment or proclaiming another unworthy, I have stepped out of my call to agapao. It isn’t easy to live love; it isn’t supposed to be.
Very often, we mix loving with other stuff. Our moral code is important. We think that if we love someone who disagrees or behaves in a way that is vastly different from our beliefs we are giving in—abandoning our principles. But agapao does not mean approval or agreement. Agapao does not remove moral responsibility.
God loves us when we make stupid decisions when we are mean or sinful. God loves us even when we turn away in anger and deny Him. God’s love overcomes transgressions and has the power to transform them to goodness.
Likewise, when we live the passionate love of God, we too can overcome the misdeeds of others. Our lived witness to the unconditional love of God can transform evil into good.
In God’s Unending Love,
Gwen
