Agape

John 3:16

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For as long as I've known this verse, I've known of the concept of agape or unconditional love. Yet, never have I delved into this word myself. It is at the crux of not only this verse, but the season of Christmas that is upon us.

The biggest surprise is that nowhere in the definition of Agapao is the term 'unconditional' listed.  The word in Greek means 'I love, wish well, take pleasure in, long for; the love of reason or esteem.' Properly it means to prefer, and is thought to be a socially or moral love.  The attribution of having no conditions comes from inference, based on the things God does for us based on this love. For instance, giving his only son.

I love the Greek for the word gave, Didomi which also means offer, it reminds me that a gift by it's nature must also be accepted.  God offered, then, his Monogenes, quite literally the only one of his genus/class/species. The only one. Are there any only's in your life, and how would you feel giving those away?

The promise comes next, anyone who believes or is persuaded will not Apollumi which means to destroy or lose, but by putting the ap makes this a stronger type of destruction, a permanent destruction. We will not be permanently destroyed but instead have Aionios Zoe.  The word Aion means an age or lifetime, adding the ios means an age that never ends, thus eternal. While Zoe does mean life, it is a physical and spiritual form of life. John did not use the word Psuche which also means life, but our spirit or breath, or an individual personality. Zoe is more generic, like when we say "Now that person is really living", meaning a full, animated, zestful life.

At first glance, this love seems conditional, because belief is required to get this eternal life. Look again, God's gift of his only Son was not conditioned based. His preference or agapeo is present independent of our belief. The deed's been done, Jesus was born. The conditions have nothing to do with the love, but are the framework necessary to lead to greater understanding, life changing decisions, and ultimate wholeness.

This Christmas as I ponder the gift of God with us, I want to also reflect on agapeo. Do I make my love for others dependent on them meeting the conditions I set, or are the conditions just a framework for overall wellness and I love despite them being met?

Not Consumed

Lamentations 3:19-27

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰ I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
²¹ Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.

Recent events in my life have brought me back to this great verse, memorized many years ago. However, I've never looked in depth at it. 

The passages leading up to verse 21 are pretty miserable.  Historians feel this book was written by the prophet Jeremiah after the fall of Jerusalem. Undoubtedly a dark time for the Jews.  It is written as a poem, and as many poems of the time it is an acrostic, meaning that each stanza begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. 

Right before the poem makes an abrupt change, the author summarizes his earlier bemoaning by saying that he remembers these afflictions, the La'anah and Rosh which were Hebrew words for the bitter herb Wormwood and for poison or venom from a serpent. These memories literally cause his soul to Shuach or sink down within him.  I can not think of a better way to describe depression or grief.

Then the mood changes as Jeremiah calls something to mind, or Shub which in Hebrew means to turn back or return.  In other words he deliberately stops his depressing decent by thinking, or returning to truths he already knows which allows something incredible to happen; hope. 

The great truth he claims is that the Lord is so tenderhearted that we are not consumed. The Hebrew word is Tamam which really means finished, spent, destroyed, ended, gone. We won't get to our end, or as the NIV says be consumed so that nothing's left because His compassions never end. Here's another great visual, for the word compassion is the Hebrew word Racham which in a literal since means womb. Symbolically there is no greater tender love than that from a mother to an infant. That merciful love from God towards us will never be spent or finished. 

Not only does it never end, that compassion is new every morning. From the Hebrew, it is fresh at the break of dawn, and just like the sun's rays burst onto the horizon each day, so do we start fresh. 

More than our need to return or look back to truths we know in times of despair, Jeremiah models another behavior that helps, as he talks to himself. He is claiming something out loud to himself, that the Lord is his portion. This Hebrew word, Cheleq is talking about a territory or inheritance. The phrase comes from Numbers 18:20 where God tells Aaron, unlike the other tribes of Judah, his tribe won't get any land or inheritance, instead they get God. Jeremiah is reminding himself that God is all he needs, God is his inheritance and because of this he has hope. Although translated into wait - the word is the same as the "hope" claimed in verse 21.

Finally he claims that God will show kindness or goodness to those who do wait and to those who seek him. The word for seek is Darash which is a searching, questioning, pursuing. There is action in this as well, and to me this gives permission to question our misery. 

When our spirit sinks then we must look back to the truths we know about God's mercies, we certainly can question and seek answers, but ultimately we must talk to ourselves to remind our souls that God is enough. 

Double Minded

James 1:5-8

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

This passage comes just after James has told us to be joyful in trials, as troubles ultimately make us more complete humans. However, James doesn't expect us to go through these trials in the dark, for now in vs 5, he recommends that we ask God for wisdom. The Greek word Sophia used for wisdom means clarity. In other words, if you don't get it and something isn't making sense - then ask! 

The visual for the next part is nice - this giving of wisdom is done generously - the Greek word Haplos literally means without folds, meaning nothing held back or hidden.  Clarity then unfolds around us, simple and frank without wrinkles.  Sounds refreshing, so how to get this wisdom?  Three things: We must ask, we must believe, we must not doubt. 

The first part is asking. This word is not a brief inquiry like other times the word ask is used in the Bible, this is Aiteo which also means to beg or demand. The tone is of a pleading nature. The request cannot be flippant, we must be sincere. 

The second part is equally important, to have faith or belief when we ask. The Greek word Pistis more literally means that you've been persuaded. It is something foundational to this pursuit, and we must be persuaded that what we seek is truth. 

The third part is the challenge for me. I've always read this as "doubt" being the opposite of faith, so basically not believing  But it is actually more complicated, the Greek word is Diakrino, broken down to dia meaning back and forth and Krino meaning to judge.  James is adding another dimension then by suggesting that those who waver back and forth in their decision making won't get wisdom.  The following visual explains doubt as being like a wave in a violently agitated sea, with the wind driving and tossing them back and forth. He adds more, saying someone who can't make a decision, going back and forth is really a double minded person. In Greek this is Dipsuchos literally someone with 2 souls. It is possible then to have faith and yet be still wresting with another belief. I think the easiest example of having two souls is our desire to follow God and at the same time still following self. 

Until we put to death our self will, self interests, etc then even when we plead for answers in faith, we probably won't get the wisdom we seek.  Is it because God won't grant it? No... remember he gives to ALL. It's because of us, as vs 7 uses the word "receive".  This Greek word is Lambano, which means receive and to take, with the emphasis on the assertiveness of the receiver. In other words, in our double minded state, although wisdom may be offered, we don't take hold or accept it. 

What's the ultimate consequence of not having clarity when troubles come? Being unsettled. This section ends with the words, "unstable in all they do". Turning to the Greek, Akatastatos literally is unsettled, and Hodos is a journey or path.  

Are you unsettled in your journey? Need clarity and wisdom to the nature of the events around you? Then ask sincerely, believing completely, without any back and forth internally. If there is internal wavering, where is the double mindedness? Most often it's our selfish nature struggling with the divine.