Nida: loving unto death

Monday, April 4, 2022
Meditation:
    And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
    —1 John 4:16-17 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The Conob Indians of northern Guatemala... describe love as “my soul dies.” Love is such that, without experiencing the joy of union with the object of our love, there is a real sense in which “the soul dies.” A man who loves God according to the Conob idiom would say “my soul dies for God.” This not only describes the powerful emotion felt by the one who loves, but it should imply a related truth—namely, that in true love there is no room for self. The man who loves God must die to self. True love is, of all emotions, the most unselfish, for it does not look out for self but for others. False love seeks to possess; true love seeks to be possessed. False love leads to cancerous jealousy; true love leads to a life-giving ministry.
    ... Eugene A. Nida (1914-2011), God’s Word in Man’s Language, New York: Harper, 1952, p. 126-127 (see the book)
    See also 1 John 4:16-17; Ps. 42:1-2; 63:1-2; 84:1; 86:5; 143:6-7; 1 John 1:5; 4:8,12-13
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, implant Your love for Your people in my heart. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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