Think About God's Love For Us And His Covenant With Us

The Greek language has at least four different variations of the word love; Agape (brotherly love), Eros (sexual or passionate love), Philia (virtuous love) and Storge (affection between parents and children).  (Please note – I am not an expert in Greek.)  

Depending on the version of the Bible you use, the word love appears 300-500 times.  I relate the word love to another word heavily used in Scripture: Covenant or Berith (Hebrew). Both terms (love and covenant) suggest to me a binding of two persons without strings attached.

As a small aside, modern musical artists love to over-utilize the word love.  The band Nazareth said “Love Hurts,” and Pat Benatar said “Love is a Battlefield.”  Elvis was asking someone to “Love Me Tender,” and Def Leppard said “Love Bites” … interesting.

However, when God speaks to His people in Scripture, He speaks in very relational terms.  He unabashadly and agelessly attempts to bring His people to a greater understanding of His covenant of love for His children.

We continually try to understand our Father’s love for us; but many times, we fall short of this understanding.  True love, without strings or burdens attached, can be difficult to understand in a human world that seems to have chosen to focus on eros instead of philia, agape or storge.

And yet God remains ever-vigilant for those who seek covenant with Him.  He looks for a people who will love Him without distraction or disorder; an all-encompassing love where the lover simply wishes to be with us in all that we do. Should this not be one of our greatest joys?

We are encouraged to “love one another as I have loved you,” and to “love your neighbor as yourself;” but just as the idea of true covenant love in itself is difficult to understand, so too are the actions that stem from this idea.

Maybe if we seek God’s guidance in the matter, it can become more tangible for us.  God seeks simply to be present with us, so we should try simply to be present to those around us – no strings, no drama.  We find that when we are present with another, there develops a bond (covenant) of trust that allows those involved to become more fully who they are meant to be.

Have you ever considered that entering into this type of love relationship with God allows us to become more human (remember, being human is not a bad thing), and at the same time it allows God to be more divine?  Think about that for a while.

So … why this dissertation on the word love?  It is quite simple.  As we experience this season of Christmas, we find that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, to be with us – ever-present until the end of the age – so that we might enter into a deeper covenant love with the Father.

God asks nothing from us beyond our binding love to Him.  He desires it with all of His being.  We see this in all of our surroundings and especially in the Word made Flesh, that infant child who came to us in modest surroundings and attire.  

Jesus did not come to us wearing the regal purple of an emperor; that would imply an imperial pledge of our affections.  No; He came to us lowly that we might reach out of our own lowliness to raise Him above all others.  And, in so doing, He  raises us beyond our lowliness to share with Him an eternal covenant that is unbound, unbroken and unfathomable.

I wish you all, my dearest brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, a most blessed and lovely Christmas.