Affection part 1
Back in the day there was a wrestler, well, a manager, named Brother Love. And his catchphrase was, "I LOOOOOVVVVEEE YOU!" But another thing he would say is, "I love you, but that doesn't mean I like you." Which stuck with me, obviously, because I still remember it to this day. I always thought that was interesting. The separation between love and like. As if they were two different thinigs. Because here's the thing: You can't really love someone without liking them. Look at one of my favorite Bible verses, "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16). Love being number 26 in Strong's Greek Concordance and meaning, "affection or benevolence; specifically a love feast: - (feast of) charity, dear, love." And, according to dictionary.com, "affection" means, "fond attachment, devotion, or love." Pretty much, to me, affection means "I like you." I'm very fond of you. I'm devoted to you. I care about you, and your welfare, and your well being. Which is what love is all about. It's not about getting--because we have already known and believed the love of God... we already have it--it's about giving what we've got. It's about letting what's inside come out by knowing and believing it's in there. And that, by the way, is the Divine Order of things. You can't believe something that you don't know. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word (which is Jesus, which is love) of God. God reveals Himself--His love--to us, and then we are able to love Him back by loving each other. But for the next few days I really want to get into this idea that loving someone and liking them are NOT two different things. And here's how it works, "For scarely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die" (Romans 5:7). Let's try that in the Message Bible for some clarity. "We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice." Talking about our limited "natural" understanding. Judging by appearance instead of judging righteous judgment. Not trying to figure out if someone "deserves" your love or not. Because deserve has nothing to do with it. We might lay our lives down for a good man. A man worth dying for. But here's the deal: Jesus thought we were ALL worth dying for. When He was lifted up from the earth on the cross He drew all men into Himself. ALL men. All of us. Everybody who had ever lived or would ever live. One for all. Jesus thought each and every one of us deserved it. He thought each and every one of us was worth dying for. Why? Because He loves us. It's that simple. And when you love someone--truly love them with that sacrificial, agape, God love--you can't help but like them. Because when you're loving someone you're not condemning them. You're simply letting them be who they are and loving them for who they are. Here's my point, and the thrust of this Rant series: The more you love someone, the more affection for them you will have. Not, "I love you, but that doesn't mean I like you." But instead, "I like you... because I love you!"