Love is as allusive as a breeze through a tree. It can’t be caught, but it can be experienced and understood by an individual for the time he needs it to comprehend something deeper, more meaningful. If you’ve marked any time on this beautiful globe, you’ve experienced love’s wonder in some capacity.
The Greeks allude to eight forms of love; agape (sacred), storge (familial), eros (romantic, passionate), philia (affectionate), mania (obsessive), ludus (playful), pragma (enduring), and philautia (self). In his book “The Four Loves,” C. S. Lewis focus on four of these. I highly recommend that book.
The proliferation of the species stems from the first two Adam and Eve. It’s never mentioned that there may have been forms of interbreeding in order for the species to survive. There is no mention of this fact after the Flood as well, but it is logically implied; Noah and his sons with their wives and the offspring that was created from these unions had to be accomplished by some form of interbreeding. This is a biproduct of Original Sin, so I guess they atoned and all was made right with the world again by begging God’s forgiveness. “And so it goes” as the species began to thrive.
Literalism is a quandary in scripture and our fundamentalist friends can’t get around that one too easily. When the word of God is taken to such extremes we find the justification of slavery, misogynie, and death for sins major and minor justified. There are inconsistencies and different interpretations of happenings in scripture. Where would we be if we acted out and carried out the literal nature of the Bible?
We are not exclusive to being rewarded with God’s favor. The following is addressed to all righteous individauls:
“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:7-12).
In the New Testament, Jesus saves a woman from being stoned to death for committing adultery. Some scholars speculate that he writes the sins of each one present in the sand and, bearing witness to their own sinfulness, think better of casting a stone against the woman. The reason why the man wasn’t brought before them to suffer such a harsh penalty, was due to a patriarchal society that made the rules. The woman was considered ownership of the man. In Jesus time, under Mosaic Law, a man could divorce a woman by saying three times, “I divorce you,” put it in writing and be done with the marriage.
There may have been a few men in that crowd who committed adultery, but the treatment of men was different for that of a woman in Jesus’ time. Jesus calls out the hypocrisy through his mercy and compassion, thus calling attention to the duplicitous nature of Mosaic Law. The authorities were trying to trap Jesus, but couldn’t do it because of his witness to the sacred nature of agape.
In scripture, Jesus does not make distinctions on the various kinds of love, but his primary concern in his teaching deals with agape and how that form of love extends to abundance in life. All things revolve around this form of sanctified love to God. Working towards this ideal something is made manifest in the human heart. A fullness of life is expressed and abundance takes root.
Nature is full of complexities. A male seahorse gives birth, not the female. Oh boy, what do we do with that one? Science further complicates the issue of being made in the “image of God” with the idea that less than one percent of human beings are born with XXY chromosomes. If one person is born with this such a sex chromosome it should give us pause in terms of what is meant to be in the world or how we approach our gay friends in judging them, as they are born in the “image of God” as well.
Far be it from me to tell anyone what their experience of love is, but it is a necessity to live in a loving manner; to not judge and be true to the call of living in the sacred call of Jesus’ understanding the best we can.
I’ve heard it said, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” But I can’t help but think, is it my place to judge any form of agape? I don’t think so. It is between the individual and God.
My sister planted a sign in her front yard that was given to her by a friend. It reads, “Love Multiplies.” I think of the fitting nature of this sign. How it multiplies literally and figuratively should give each one of us pause. Is a love that inspires new hope any different than a literal love of a kiss? Is a love through an act of creation that creates a new work of art and inspires a change of consciousness toward goodness any less than a birth of a child?
One who is unable to have a child is a loving individual and creates a form of love that brings abundance in its own right. As a heterosexual man, I’ve been the beneficiary of non-sexual expressions of love from gay friends that have helped me in life. These blessed gifts from my gay friends have allowed me opportunities to bless with abundant fruits in my own way, so their expression of love for me is a fruitful endeavor.
Yes, love does multiply.
spirit beat 