The Grands Letter (Gen/GLJ)
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D. on March 18, 2023 6:19 am (CST)Dear Grands,
Genesis 22:2-3, “He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.’
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”
There are over 850 love-related words throughout the Scriptures. At the same time, there are many instances where love is injected into writings without mention of what the word actually means in its original language.
In our English language, with one word for “love,” we might say, “I love apple pie,” but mean much less than when we say, “I love you,” to a special person. In the Biblical languages, there are separate words that carry the various meanings of the word “love.”
In Greek, for example, the word agape is the strongest word for love. We find it in Luke 6:35, where it says, “…love your enemies…” One formidable Greek scholar says that there is no trace of the word agape in any heathen writer anywhere. Thus, the word is protected and preserved for its highest usage in Holy Scripture.
The Greek word phileo (as in Luke 20:46), offers a lesser meaning of love, when it says that the scribes walk around in long robes, and love (phileo) to hear the respectful greetings they receive in the market places.
Eros, is a Greek word that translates as “love” in English, but carries such a vile and coarse meaning that it is eliminated completely from the Greek New Testament.
All of this is to say that words have meanings. We must take extreme care in how we use them. What is intended by the user may be understood in a totally different way by the hearer. My great-grandkids often mean something quite differently than what I understand. We are blessed to have a Savior who hears with understanding.
All this is to say that we need to guard what we say, and how we “flavor” it, lest it be heard differently than we intend. We are so blessed to have a God who understands our hearts, even before the words come forth through our speech.
Heartily in Christ Jesus,
(Dado III)
Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America
“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom