The Other Four-Letter Word
Their actions spoke loud and clear that they were in love. They each wore a matching oversized sweatshirt that read in extra bold letters, “Engaged AF”. Without thinking I naively said, “Oh you’re engaged and in the Air Force! How cool is that?” From the response of hilarious laughter that came from the younger group around me, I knew once again that I’d fallen headlong into a cultural communication gap. In this case it was more like a chasm.
I learned that day that “AF” had nothing to do with the Air Force, but involved a four-letter word that also starts with “F”. I was embarrassed at my mistake but also appalled at the use of this particular word being used in reference to an occasion as beautiful as an engagement. This strange dichotomy put my mind on how many other words with which we take so much liberty and often use out of typical context. A perfect example of this is another four letter word: love.
In my native English language, we commonly refer to “four letter words” as those we believe profane or vulgar, and are usually slang expressions or curse words. While “love” is in no way profane, it does have four letters and its usage is often banal and watered down. The word love has become so humdrum in our communication that it has lost its significance. One might say it has a splattered meaning. We love our job, love our spouse, love our children, love our dog, love our home, love dessert and love our God. We use the same word to implicate our feelings toward both our dog and our God. Is it possible to truly describe our relationship with our tasty dessert and the Divine with the same word?
To answer that question, we must first answer this one: What is the meaning of the word love? Paul, a writer in the New Testament of the Christian Bible, gives to us the best definition of love.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV
Essentially love is uniquely defined by what it does, what it does not do, how hard it works, and finally by how long it lasts.
With this in mind, perhaps the word “love”, the biggest four letter word, really is applicable to my God as well as my dog.
How, or should I say, what is your LOVE doing?
The only way to “have” this kind of love is to “live” it. Love is way beyond a feeling; it’s a doing. And the only way to do it is to let God do it through you. If you haven’t figured it out by now, you’ll need some supernatural help to display this kind of love.