Ahava

I remind myself day after day not to lean on my own emotions or understanding, as I'm sure plenty of other people do too.

That's why our English word love is so confusing to me. Oxford defines love as:

Love (n) 1. an intense feeling of deep affection.

This is conflicting to those of us who follow Jesus because He simplifies our entire calling with one word- love. To understand what He actually means, we have to examine the context and the meaning of His word for "love", because in English it doesn't add up completely.

We must not lean on our feelings but instead, trust in Christ alone...yet His great commandment to us is to love...which is "an intense feeling"? Here's the thing; when Jesus told us to love, He wasn't calling us to a life of feeling, but of action.

" ...' You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.'" -Matthew 22:37–40

Jesus here is quoting almost word for word the Shema, a Jewish prayer muttered at least twice a day, usually more. This prayer was engrained in their brains from such a young age that it shaped how they thought, lived, and, well, loved. It was spoken over dinner, around the house, upon waking up, going to sleep, while walking around, and doing work; it was constantly on the tip of the tongue and the forefront of the brain.

The Shema is the Jewish John 3:16, except it was repeated all the time because that's what God instructed them to do.

And so, the Pharisee whom Jesus was speaking with in Matt 22:37 would have seen what He was quoting instantly.

The Shema:

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." -Deuteronomy 6:4–5

The Hebrew word here that we render as love is ahava (ah-hah-vah).

The root word ahav means to "give".

Unlike our love, which is largely focused on self, emotions, and whim, ahava is more a sacrificial action. Please don't misread me; ahava is not stoic and emotionless, it certainly makes you feel something, but that's not what ahava is built upon. It is steadfast and unchanging (unlike emotions, but like God), so even when passion is not present, you can still give.

We look to Jesus to model ahava, and we find Him in a garden on the night He was arrested, sweating drops of blood and pleading with His Father, yet "not what I will, but what You will". Christ's heart and His deep ahava never wavered, yet He begged, Abba! Remove this cup from me! (Mark 14:36)

In those moments His emotions were "very sorrowful, even to death" (Matt 26:38). Yet- He gave (ahav) His life.

Another example happened years prior when God showed His love how? He gave His one and only son (John 3:16).

In the ordinary rhythms of our little lives, we often wage war with emotions. We are told we "shall love the LORD [our] God with all [our] heart and all [our] soul and with all [our] strength", but we don't feel like it. But ahava is not reliant on our whimsy, it is reliant on Christ. Even when we're not in the mood, we can give as He gives. Even when we are passionately against it, pleading and begging, we can give as He gives. Ahav.

Ahava is a steadfast, covenant affection; Christ's love never changes, it never grows or lessens. Love, ahava, is just who He is. Ahava does not vanish or wear down over time, and you don't fall into it; you give it, and you receive exceedingly more of it from God.

Christ's ahava for you is so unthinkably and unreasonably deep that He went to death carrying the weight of all you've ever done or will do, so that not even your sin could separate you from Him. The only thing that could separate you from His all-encompassing ahava was conquered when He rose from the grave.

"...I have loved you with an everlasting ahava; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." -Jeremiah 31:3

His love is everlasting, therefore He has continued His faithfulness. Our God is a faithful God, but even His faithfulness comes from His ahava. Everything flows from His sacrificial love, His love that doesn't feel but gives.

I believe God says He loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7) because He is one.

After all, Christ is love, and the root of love is literally to give.

When we ahava the Lord with all our heart, soul, and strength, we are giving Him all we are because we recognize all He gives us. And maybe you have noticed that giving your all to Christ is also called surrender; it's so interesting to note that love and surrender are the same because surrender is what happens when you love.

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." -John 15:13

Greater ahava is giving all that you are, your very life lay down. Christ has done this very thing for you, His friend.