Love & Hate

A few years ago I became very serious about not just reading the Bible, but about studying it in its cultural and linguistical context. After-all, what I have is a translation and I live in a different time and culture. I hear that the Bible is full of ‘contradictions’ but when I study those passages in context I have found the seeming contradictions usually disappear. Oftentimes the Hebrew or Greek have many words translated into one English word; sometimes the Hebrew or Greek word has multiple meanings but because translations are word by word and not necessarily meaning, the word used in English is not the best translation for meaning. An example of each kind follows: one for the word translated “Love” and one for “hate.”

LOVE

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “ Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus *said to him, “ Tend My sheep. John 21: 15-17

In Greek there are three main words which are translates into English as Love:

Agapao – or agape: unconditional love

Phileo: brotherly love

Eros : sexual love

In this passage, Jesus asks Peter, “Do you agape Me more than these?” Peter responds that he phileos Jesus. That is a different picture than the one painted by use of a single word “love.” Perhaps Peter did not feel he could say agape as a sinful man; we don’t know, but Jesus gives him a second chance by asking again, “Do you agape Me?” and Peter again replies that he phileos Jesus. So finally, Jeusus concedes and says, “Do you phileo Me?” So Peter was grieved that Jesus asked if he phileo Him. Peter replies that yes he phileos Jesus. The meaning of the words in the original document alter our perception of the meaning of the verses and the lessons it has for us.

HATE

In Luke 14:26 Jesus tells the crowds ‘If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.’

Then in I John 2:11 John tells us “But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

In English the word “hate” means to detest or dislike. The word “hate” usually is associated with fairly strong emotions like anger. Yesterday I watched a rerun of MASH where a fourth grader said he hated the doctors because they fixed his brother just so he could return to the war to get killed. Hawkeye responded with touching words, “Dear Ronnie, it's a shame to let the love you have for your brother turn to hate for others. Hate makes war, and war is what killed Keith.”

It is pretty obvious that hating someone is a dark place, so why would Jesus say to hate other people, and not just anyone, but He purposefully chooses those closest to us like fathers, mothers, siblings, and children. That slaps us in the face and gets our attention. These are the people we would die for, or even kill for – “blood is thicker than water” and all that. I know when I had kids I truly learned what unconditional love is, and what I am capable of if need-be to protect them. Even when I want to pull-out my (ever-graying) hair, I love, love LOVE my kids with probably the closest thing to agape I have ever known. Hate them? Never!

The Greek for “hate” in both verses is miseo, which has two different meanings – one is “detest” and one is “to love less.”

So in Luke, Jesus is not telling us to be filled with hatred or to detest anyone, He is saying that if we do not love others, even the most important people in our lives or ourselves less than we love Him, then we cannot be His true disciples.

Time of Refreshing

A friend of mine was reading Acts Chapter 3, and he asked what we thought of the concept of refresh or "time of refreshing" from verse 19:

“ Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19)

Here are my thoughts:

In this passage, the word translated as Repent is the word metanoeo, which literally means to think differently (reconsider or repent) {It’s sister is metanoia, which means compunction for guilt (repentance or a reversal) which leads to forgiveness {more on that in my post an offering of forgiveness})}

Return, is the word epistepho, and means to be converted (turned around).

Refresh is the word anapsuxis. It means a recovery of breath, revival.

What I get is this: Peter is saying they are like dead people. Their thinking is twisted by sin. So much so, that they cried for the death of the very Messiah they had been waiting for. He is telling people they are dead in sin and need to turn from death and convert their thinking (repent) to receive life: a recovery of breath (refreshing) from God!

He says a “time of refreshing,” so it is not like one kid at the beach who drowned and got life breathed back into him, but like a tsunami drowned hundreds of thousands of people and they all get life breathed back into them. It is a picture of revival!

Blot out/wipe out is the word exaleipo. It literally means to obliterate: erase so it does not exist. Like a nuke-bomb on sin.

And why would God revive people and obliterate their sin? So Jesus can come back and claim a pure Bride. (Everything is, afterall, about His Glory).

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What does revival look like? What is our response to being refreshed by God?

If all those drowned people got brought back to life they would probably be dancing and singing and celebrating! They would probably re-evaluate what is most important in life and they would probably tell absolutely every person they knew they had been dead and were brought back to life. That kind of excitement is contagious.

Spiritually speaking, anyone who comes to Christ is one of those people.

Usually when the Church thinks of revival, it thinks of people who are already Christ-followers who have just gotten tired, but I think this specific passage is talking to spiritually dead people.

For the Christian, I think of the 23rd Psalm. “He restores my soul” The journey is long and hard sometimes and we get weary or discouraged.. The word for restore is Shuwb. It fits what we might visualize as being refreshed from our English speaking way of thinking: rescued from weariness - being returned to a state of spiritual vigor - restored; whereas the passage in Acts uses a word that means to be made alive from being dead.

Again, what is our response to that? Do we just lie in the green pastures and sip of the cool, still waters while God pampers us with His affection? Or do we absolutely soak Him in and respond in worship because our cups are filled to overflowing with Love from and for Him? I think when He restores us we want to dance and sing and tell everyone how good He is all over again. That is what He taught me (2007) when He gave me my version of music for this Psalm.

Final thought: Psalm 33 says ‘the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him and who hope for His Lovingkindness… He will rescue them..Our hearts rejoice in His Holy Name.’

Fear here does not mean to cower in a corner. It means to be in awe of His Awesomeness and humble in spirit with respect for His Supremacy over all things. And He will rescue, restore, refresh- and in response our hearts will brim over in Joy.