Love Letters: Say What? Part 2

LOVE LETTERS:  
SAY WHAT?  PART 2
#6 in the Series: Daddy, It's Me--Conversations of an Ordinary Person with an Extraordinary Heavenly Father

As I mentioned in the previous segment, looking up word definitions, synonyms, and antonyms in a dictionary can enlighten and broaden your experience of scripture and your knowledge of and relationship to the Author.

I have recently found yet another resource fo deepening understanding:  The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible by James Strong, LL.D, S.T.D. Expanded with the Best of Vine’s Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words.  This is a GIANT book that contains every word in the Bible indexed to its original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) word.  It does not make me a scholar, but it does make it possible for me to gain new insights into scripture that I would not originally have grasped.  It also enables one to discover that there may be many words in the original language for which we only have one word in the English language.  The nuances of the word differences make for a deeper understanding.

The book is organized in 3 main sections:

1. Old and New Testament words and references
2. Hebrew dictionary
3. Greek dictionary

The first section is organized alphabetically.  Each word is then shown in a phrase from the verse in which it appears.  Then it is indexed to a number for the original language word.  Simply look up the number in the dictionary for enlightenment!

The study on love that I mentioned last time, led me to these entries G#25 and G#26.  At first I was confused because they seemed so similar.  So I looked them up in other commentaries and finally the light dawned!  While in English we use the same word for love as a noun or a verb, in Greek #25 “agapao” is a verb whereas Greek #26 “agape” in a noun.  Thus 1 Corinthians 13 is filled with the word “agape”.  But John 15 is about “agapao” yourself and your neighbor.

And what is “agapao”?  

I started the hunt for understanding about “love your neighbor as yourself “ on Jan 3, 2019.  On Feb 3, 2019 I reflected:

Agapao—unconditional, sacrificial actions prompted by a conscious decision of the giver, irrespective of the worth or value of the object.

Phileo (another Greek Word for “love”)—affection in all it’s varying degrees (but not sexual); fondness, respect, appreciation, passion, friendliness

Agapao—an act of the will. In some instances it seems to also include phileo but not always... But giving agapao can result in the object (the thing loved) giving phileo or agapao in return.  Agapao, because it is an act of the will, can be commanded, i.e., “Love your neighbor.”  (Or the more challenging but just as biblical:  “Love your enemies!”)  It is not dependent on a feeling.  There may not be any emotion in it.  When used of our relationship with God it is often about obedience.  I’m glad he also phileo me…and I him.  I enjoy the fondness, the intimacy, the passion!

It is your turn.  Pick a verse you have an interest in.  Using the Blue Letter Bible app or a Strong’s Concordance look up some of the words in the original language. Let me know how the Lord touches you. 

Enjoy…and free your mustang heart!