The Story of Love

For a word that we use so often, love is a very difficult word for us to define. I looked up love in the dictionary on my shelf, and found that it is both a noun and a verb. It has eleven different definitions. Love has to do with God. It has to do with physical affection. It has to do with romance. It even has to do with tennis. Thats a pretty wide range of definitions to sort through. 

So when the Bible says we are to love one another it sounds good, but what does that really mean anyway? People can be so irritating. Somebody once wrote a little limerick that’s hard to forget; "To live above with those we love, oh, how that will be glory. To live below with those we know, now that's another story. Even our immediate families and church families can be difficult to love. Sometimes we sing a chorus in church: "I'm so glad you're a part of the family of God," and then we look at the person beside us and think, "I'm surprised you're part of the family of God."

In English we have only one word for love. I think that unfortunate. The ancient Hebrews had the same dilemma. 'Ahab was the ancient Hebrew word, and all different shades of love had to be captured in that single term. The Greeks had far more. But no matter the number of words you have for it one thing remains the same. Love is work, love is sacrifice, love changes things, and God calls us to Love others and he loves us!