Blessed Beyond Abundantly

Forty-two years ago today I married my best friend who became my lover, my confident, my spiritual leader and the father of my children. We have had our experiences for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. We even had a “til death do we part’ moment followed by a resurrection. We enjoyed the mundane and the miracleous. We have had it all. A glorious ride.

Now we are entering year 43. I love you Carl Wiggins III. The ride continues. ♥♥♥♥♥

LOVE?

What did Y’shua mean?

Matthew 22:35-40 (KJV)
³⁵  Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
³⁶  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
³⁷   Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
³⁸  This is the first and great commandment.
³⁹  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
⁴⁰  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

This word is used so freely to describe such a wide range of emotions. We say “I love you” just to be nice sometimes without thinking of the depth of feelings the other person may believe it to mean. In the scripture above the word is translated from the Greek word agapeo which is defined in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance as “to love in a social and moral sense.” What does that mean? Comparing it to brotherly love, phileo, agapeo is an deliberate, intellectual act of the will that embraces duty, propriety and principle. In other words, it is not based on feelings but is a choice. As Y’shua states above, we are to love God with all our heart, our soul and our mind. Love the Lord your God with all your thoughts and feelings, your breath, and your deep thought (understanding).

That makes clear HOW I am to love but what does the word love mean?Going back to Deuteronomy 6:5 that Y’shua was quoting the word love is defined as ‘to have affection for.” That seems easy. I can have affection for God and for you. However, it goes so much deeper than that. It has to be an “all” kind of love. My entire being expresses love for my God. It’s ALL encompassing; my very lifestyle. That my friend affects how I love you or myself. Paul, a scholar of the Law, summarizes Yahweh’s instructions on the lifestyle of the Israelites and Y’shua’s teachings in the following text.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (ESV)
⁴  Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
⁵  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
⁶  it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
⁷  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. …….1
¹³  So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I deliberately, and intellectually choose to LOVE.

Making Changes

Hi everyone. I am making some changes to my blog. I am trying to get some information from WordPress before I make the changes public. In the meantime I am still having some random thoughts that I will be sharing in a few days. Just wanted to stay in touch.