land of honey: 2 John

Here we examine what the Bible means by the word love. We will see that it's more than just feelings towards someone, and through the correct understanding of this fruit of the Spirit we will better understand Bible verses like John 3:16 and other Scriptures on love.

What is love? This question has been asked by nearly everyone, from great poets and philosophers to modern pop musicians to young children. I know for a long time I thought love was a warm and fuzzy feeling that you would get when you really liked something or someone.

So I'd read Bible verses and think they meant things like this:

God liked the world so much that he gave his only son for it. (John 3:16)

Let all you do be done feeling like you really like it. (1 Corinthians 16:4)

Let the morning bring word of your unfailing good feelings towards me. (Psalm 143:8)

We like him because he first liked us. (1 John 4:9)

Be patient, bearing with one another with good feelings. (Ephesians 4:2)

Like your neighbor as much as you like yourself. (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39)

I could go on because there are plenty of verses that talk about love in the Bible, in the Old Testament and new, but I'm sure you get the idea because I think we have all been there. We have all realized that plenty of our neighbors, we don't like at all, let alone as much as ourselves. Maybe you've felt guilty because you just don't like praise and worship music as much as you like pop songs. Or wondered how on earth you can have nothing but giddy feelings about God in all of your heart and mind.

Interestingly the Bible gives us a definition of love in 2 John 6:

"Love is this: that we should live according to his commands."

If we take our idea of love, those feelings of fondness or liking something, that doesn't really fit here. Liking something a lot is living by commands? What kind of sense does that make? How did commandments get involved with feelings? The Bible is saying that real love is seen through actions, because the Bible is saying that love is something greater than a feeling, no matter how strong that feeling might be.

N.T. Wright says that when you see the word love in the Bible, it's shorthand for covenant faithfulness. I think that's the most concise explanation of 2 John 6 or the Biblical meaning of love. My mental connection of 'love' with 'feelings' can often cloud my understanding of many Biblical passages, but when you read "covenant faithfulness" in place of love, you can understand Bible verses in deeper ways.

Because God was so faithful to the covenant, he sent his only son. (John 3:16)

Let all you do be done in faithfulness to the covenant. (1 Corinthians 16:4)

Let the morning bring word of your unfailing faithfulness to me. (Psalm 143:8)

We can be faithful to him because he was first faithful to us. (1 John 4:9)

Be patient, bearing with one another with covenant faithfulness. (Ephesians 4:2)

Nothing can ever separate us from God's covenant faithfulness. (Romans 8:38)

This concept also sheds extra light unto 2 John 6, in that it directly links love and commandment keeping through covenant faithfulness. When we keep Biblical commandments, that is how we can be faithful to our covenant with YHWH. This fits with what the Messiah said in John 14:15 that if we love him we would keep his commandments.

"Love is this: that we should live according to his commands."

We should take note here that when Jesus talked about the greatest commandments ("Love YHWH with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself."), he was not giving anyone a new idea. Many Christians think that in the Old Testament God was cold and distant and harsh, then Jesus came around and changed the narrative to love. This is not true. When the Messiah said these things he was directly quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 (part of the famous Hear O Israel or shema prayer) and Leviticus 19:18. God has always been love.

As his children, we are also called to love. Sometimes we will experience the feelings of love (and I believe that God genuinely does like us and have good feelings about us!), but when you're not full of the warm and fuzzies you are not some sort of failure. You can make the choice to continue being faithful to the God of creation. We do that by keeping his commands.