What is Love?

Christians for many centuries, over and over, have stated, "God is love." Most famously, St. Augustine said, "Love God and do as you like." And, of course, countless devout individuals through out history have emphasized everyone should love others. All this sounds so good, so pious, so wonderful, but tragically like so many philosophical and ethical assertions, the devil is in the details:-(--not the God of Jesus the Christ. Rather in the details of actual Christian actions are obscene horrors.

The same St. Augustine of the famous quote also supported the persecution of other Christians, torture, killing, etc. From his era to the present Christian Churches in the name of love have poisoned forth all the horrific acts of 2,000 years of hell on earth. Millions of humans have been slaughtered, burned, hanged, shot, bombed, and drowned--all in the name of Jesus and this religious ideal of Christian "love" (I won't itemize some of the terrible actions now; I have done that in a previous blog). A more recent case is that of Stonewall Jackson and R. L. Dabney who ordered the death of thousands during the American Civil War, giving all thanks to Jesus Christ and God and emphasizing the importance of love to God and others. I just finished the excellent and powerful biography of Stonewall by John Bowers. What a great general Jackson was! And what a devout believer and how personable and kind to those of his own kin and group. But what a ruthless killer of others, and in his killing, he gave all the praise for his successful slaughters to God! He often prayed, worshiped, and read his Bible in the midst of battles!

Not that Christianity has a corner on these strange demonstrations of "love." When I lived in the Middle East, I visited a restaurant. On the wall was a sign which listed all the characteristics of love in Islam. Yet, then (and in the past and now) Muslims quote the Koran to justify slaughtering civilians. So it goes.

And check out secular history. Humanists who reject religion for all its horrors also often define "love" as a worthy human goal, only their actions are contrary too.

On a minor note back during my university days (late 60's), Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlavsky came to the University of Nebraska to do a poetry reading. Allen emphasized that "love" is the answer to the world's problems. I, a naive, small town kid was impressed, but an older former beatnik told me not to be deceived. I saw what he meant when later one of the young girls in our group was allegedly left pregnant and alone by Orlavsky who moved on to their next poetry reading. Young men of other worldviews tried to persuade us that a man could have multiple relationships with women and it was "love." Forget all the tragic results of these "love" affairs.

And since then all manner of distortions continue to be put forth as loving. Thinkers have even claimed the intentional bombing of thousands of civilians and acts of euthanasia are expressions of love! Indeed, the devil is in the details. Evil hogs them.

Why is it God always gets left holding the bag of evil?

Enough of the bad news!

What is the nature of true love--the kind that doesn't result in hell on earth? The great Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh has some very good clear examples if you wish a definition which isn't centered in the New Testament. However, since I am a Friend of Jesus, that is where I find my understanding of what love is.

Check out Luke 10:27. Jesus said, YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.

Well, the problem is in the details again though, because most of the killers, slave-owners, etc. of the last 2,000 years have claimed to believe Jesus' words, indeed have done their evil with this verse on their lips, praying to Jesus and reading the Bible as they did their horrific deeds.

So we need to go deeper.

A lawyer questions Jesus--sounds legalistic doesn't it--asking exactly, WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

Jesus isn't going to be caught in parceling out humankind, the ones who we must love versus the ones we can ignore or even hate such as, say, the Romans or the national traitors or bad sinners. (Remember, in Jewish culture, the men wouldn't even eat with Gentiles!)

Jesus reverses the thinking of the lawyer with the Parable of the Good Samaritan, pointing out we should be loving like a heretic and national enemy and show active compassion and practical deeds of help including personal involvement, the giving of our money and our time.

This is a continuation of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 38-48) where he even contradicts such Jewish heroes as David and says that we should love our enemies. And so his followers wouldn't get the wrong idea (like so many later would despite his very words), Jesus emphasizes that "loving one enemies" means practical actions on our part. For instance if an enemy nation conquers you and its soldiers abuse and execute your people and these killers demand you behave as a servant by carrying their soldier bags for a mile, then you are to offer to carry these enemy killers' stuff for another extra mile.

When enemies HATE YOU, BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE YOU, PRAY FOR THOSE WHO MISTREAT YOU (Luke 6: 27-38).

Of course, for most of us (as for Jesus' disciples who wanted to kill the Romans and call fire down to destroy the Samaritans, etc.)
we need even more directions of what the word "love" actually means and so the N.T. provides many more definitions and examples. The best is 1 Corinthians 13:

Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. (NASB)

No doubt these love commands from Spirit of Christ are overwhelming. Probably that is part of the reason why the disciples and Paul felt then that it was impossible to be a true follower of Jesus.

How can we possibly love individuals of the Taliban? Insurgents in Iraq? the planners of 9-11? the criminal who stabbed us? the parent or leader who abused us? the co-worker who lied about us?

Yet this is Jesus' walk, what it means to be Friends. If Jesus loves and died for all of us, how can we do less?

Jesus' call: To love everyone into the realm of God:-)

In the love of Jesus,

Daniel Wilcox