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About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman Not
For The Faint Of Heart
I like Vince Gill's album entitled "The Reason Why." He sings one song with jazz singer Diana Krall entitled "Faint of Heart." Gill's country concedes to Krall's jazz on this song, resulting in real nice traditional jazz. The song is about love between a man and a woman not being for the faint of heart. As usual, just a phrase can give me an idea for an article, as does the phrase "not for the faint of heart." Whether it's country,
rock, jazz, folk, or blues, the word "love" is one over-sung
word in our popular songs. Of
course, it's hormonally laced love, which leads me to my point in this
article. The Greek word
"eros" ("erotic" in English) expressed this sexualized love in the
first century, Greco Roman world in which the New Testament was written.
The most common Greek
word translated as love in our English New Testament, sorry to say, is not
eros. It is "agape,"
and agape is love that is demonstrated in some form of personal sacrifice.
That's probably why the word agape grew out of common usage in the
first century, Greco Roman world. I
guess everyone was more excited about eros than agape.
So what's new? Our
culture is no different, preferring sex over sacrifice any day of the
week. Since the word
"agape" grew out of favour in the Greco Roman world, Christians
adopted it to represent God's love. God
demonstrated agape when He sacrificed Himself by entering humanity.
Jesus demonstrated agape when He sacrificed Himself while on the
cross. When Paul, in 1
Corinthians 13, told us to love, he was telling us to sacrifice ourselves
for the sake of another. 1
Corinthians 13, often called the "love chapter," is frequently
quoted at weddings, but once the ceremony ends, the fire-filled explosion
of eros begins. Then over
time, when the erotic flames begin to flicker, we see if agape can be
ignited, and that is not for the faint of heart.
Sacrificial love is
central to all things pertaining to our lives as Christians, something we
don't hear about in today's unbalanced evangelical gospel.
We hear about all of the benefits of being a Christian, but have we
forgotten that in the same sacrificial way God sent Jesus into the world,
Jesus sends us into the world. Read
John 20:21. "Again Jesus said,
'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am
sending you.'" In the eyes of popular
songs, hormonally laced love makes for a good jazz song.
In the eyes of God, agape makes for a good Christian, and that's
not for the faint of heart.
Post Script
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