Week 50 John
I’d finished the last two letters of John before I got a word book to confirm what I was pretty sure about. Out of the ~215 times the word love is used in the bible John accounts for ~70 of them – ~33.56%. Loved is used 36 times in the NT…23 times by John. So I know love is an important word and idea for him.
But I wish John had used a different word than love. The way love is commonly used in Alberta is almost completely different from the way John uses it. There should be two distinct words (if I hear the word black I can’t be expected to think white).
Couple of examples of what John says about love:
…those who obey God’s word really do love him
…we know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us. And so we also ought to give up our lives
…let us stop just saying we love each another; let us really show it by our actions
…love means doing what God has commanded us.
So John’s love isn’t sexual or romantic and I’m not even sure if emotion or affection are much involved at all. Which changes love a lot. If love is doing things the Lord prefers then love – for me – might mean doing something I don’t even feel like doing. And taking the sensory thrill out of love doesn’t sound like 21st century love at all.
Note: quotes from 1 John 2:5, 3:16, 18 & 2 John 6 (NLT)