The meaning of words are important, are they not? I feel like sometimes we are in a circus and clowns are in charge of the meaning of words. At a moments notice one clown may not like a word, he then intends to demonize that word and retard its meaning. Is it not apparent, that this indeed is the confusion humanity suffers?
Hijacking The Word Love
There are complex words like the word Love. It is so easy for a clown to play on this word, no? There are 4 main meanings of the word Love and in that, several different degrees of it’s intensity. There is love of family, love in a marriage, love of friends & love of strangers and enemies. We can go to the beginning and try to understand the root, the beginning of love, yes, indeed, the Love of God.
The Origin of Love
The origin of love would be the creator of it, would it not? A purely humanist individual would try to convince you that the concept of love has evolved over time gradually becoming what you see today. But just like everything else, they are simply wrong, and do not mind propagating lies. Isn’t it obvious that the further we go on in time the more confusing the meaning of the word “Love” seems to be. Not only love, but many other words have been hijacked to retard their meanings.
Stoic Love
The entire meaning of Stoicism is love, is it not? Think of it, Stoic foundations; reason, wisdom, justice, courage, self-control, empathy. Stoicism helps you divorce yourself from things you cannot control, indeed this will help any person who empathetically suffers from the pain of others. Managing stress through Stoicism amounts to self-love does it not? It distances you from things that would hurt you and others. Indeed Stoics make good marriage material because anyone that knows how to love themself will surely have a head start on loving someone else.
God’s Love
Contrary to many commentators out there, the original Stoics did believe in God. However, since they came into existence 300 years before Christ, the original Stoic Philosopher Zeno did not have the opportunity to experience God in the Flesh. The Stoics concentration was on things in nature and living in harmony with that. Personally, I believe this goal aligned them more with spirituality and then, hence, God. The first Stoic that really had this opportunity and it is suspected that he had a relationship with the Paul the Apostle was Seneca.
Paul and Seneca
Yes, there are notable thematic similarities between the writings of the Apostle Paul and Lucius Annaeus Seneca, even though they emerged from different intellectual and cultural traditions. These parallels have intrigued scholars, leading to speculation about whether Seneca was influenced by Christian teachings or whether both drew from shared philosophical and moral ideas of the Greco-Roman world. Download Full PDF here
God’s Love Defined
Hence, Christian Stoics like myself have very good reason to believe that this Stoic Philosophy integrated Christian Philosophy into it’s core.That being said I think it is worthwhile to examine it’s teaching on what Love actually is, the foundation and how it has embodied the different aspects we experience today. In a simple text brought to us by the Apost John we read, ” …Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love…“. 1 John 4:8.
Paul’s Take on Love
If you fancy an in depth perception and meaning of the term “Love” Paul describes it beautifully. Here is what he says.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails…” 1 Cornithians 13:1-8
If that does not take your breath away, then I simply do not know what will.
Hijacking Love
There are many cults in the world today hijacking love to retard it’s meaning. They apply this love terminology only towards their members in a sick kind of twisted way. However, indeed, they hate anyone not a member of their cult or organization. These sick and depraved individuals have never learned that in order to love you must let go of your ego. When you try to reason with these kinds of people you can see in their eyes that the lights are on but no one is really home.
The Meaning of the Word Love
Given what we have described above, the apex and original foundation of the word Love is embodied and defined in our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other and, there is no one like him. So, if you fancy a journey and are looking for real change in your life for the better; I encourage you to learn all you can about this person. You indeed have nothing to lose and everything to gain.