Love

God's love for mankind is the fundamental tenet of the Hebrew faith (Deut 4:37; 7:8). The channel through which God expresses that love is, first and foremost, his people Israel. Prophets and historical writers agree in finding the basis of Israel's election and peoplehood in God's love for them (I Kgs 10:9; II Chr 2:11; 9:8; Is 43:4; 48:14; Jer 31:3; Hos 11:1; Mal 1:2). The human love of God and all acts of piety, devotion and service towards him, are subsumed under the command: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart" (Deut 6:5; cf Ex 20:6); this love is made possible by God himself (Deut 30:6). There is, in addition, love between humans although such love begins within the immediate family circle (Gen 24:67; 25:28; 29:20; Ruth 4:15), it branches out and includes the stranger in the midst and, even one's enemy (cf Ex 23:44ff; Deut 22:1-4; Prov 25:21). The tension between the love of God and the prophet's desire for vengeance against God's enemies, is clearly seen in the Book of Jonah and the book's inclusion in the canon affirms Judaism's transcendence over chauvinism and over any narrow notion of God's election.

An early and profound affirmation of God's love appears in the Book of Hosea. Using the model of a broken marriage (Hos chaps. 1-3), Hosea is the first to declare the relationship between God and Israel a special covenant love, dating back to the great formative event of Hebrew history, the Exodus, as interpreted by Moses.

Human love is strongly felt in the Song of Solomon where male and female lovers show little inhibition in expressing their delight in each other. It has been recognized as contributing significantly to a theology of love precisely because it lacks all prurient interest. Although throughout history there has been a tendency to resort to allegory to avoid the book's concrete literalness, the collection of love poetry in the Song of Solomon emphasizes the joy, innocence, mutuality and naturalness of the devotion of love. The light it throws on human love is in striking contrast to parallel Greek perceptions.

However mundane some aspects of human love may seem, it is related directly to God's love and the love shown towards God. Love for one's neighbor is part of loving God. Such love begins with the one near to us (the neighbor) but reaches out to those farther away and always includes the resident alien (Lev 19:34), the foreigner living within Israel's territory who, being denied civil rights, is particularly helpless and vulnerable to abuse (Deut 10:19).

The role of Israel was to serve as a light to the Gentiles so that the latter could experience not only the sovereignty of God but also his compassion and love.

Love is central in the message of the NT, although there is no foundation for the claim that its view of love is unique. While the verb "to love" appears in the gospels with some frequency, the noun does not, whereas in the epistles (with the exception of I John) the reverse is true. But it should not be concluded that love has become an abstract virtue, for its dynamic and active sense is always maintained.

Christian perceptions of love are grounded above all in the Jewish affirmation of God's election. All discussions of love begin with the premise that God first loved man and that act of free deliverance gave rise to the commandments: You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:37, 39; Mark 12:30-31; Luke 10:27). Jesus' fusion of these commandments was no innovation; his interpretation made him a participant in the debate already in progress among his Jewish fellow teachers. In the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke chap. 10) the element of surprise lies in the fact that an individual whose people were more renowned for molesting travelers rather than for assisting them, is portrayed as understanding the meaning of love for his neighbor. Though equally bound by the laws of purification, the Samaritan risked defilement in order to bring help to the wounded man.

Jesus taught that his disciples should love their enemies (Luke 6:27, 35). Here too he drew on his own Jewish heritage which, although it may not contain the explicit commandment, precisely prescribes what loving the enemy means: returning blessings for curses, praying for those who harm us, feeding the hungry enemy and quenching his thirst (Prov 25:21; Rom 12:20). The Jewish work the Testament of Joseph states: "If anyone seeks to do evil to you, do well unto him and pray for him, and you will be redeemed of the Lord from all evil".

Such behavior is grounded in the nature of God and is consistent with being his child (Matt 5:43-48). Some sources, both Christian and Jewish, promise that this course of action will lead to a dissolution of the enmity. Jesus offers no such easy assurance, while Paul holds out the hope that good is the only way to conquer evil (Rom 12:19-21).

A profound Christian view of love is to be found in I John. Not only is in the central theme (the word appears about 50 times in this short epistle) but the writer also affirms that it is mockery to speak of love for God unless love is expressed for one's brother (I John 4:20); the latter term is probably not restricted to "fellow Christian" even though that may be the primary reference point. Jesus' repeated urgings to relinquish family ties, stated in its most radical form in Luke 14:26: "if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple", are an invitation to place love for God first.

A high tribute to love is found in I Corinthians chapter 13 which has no reference to Jesus but faithfully describes the way he loved and lived. Perhaps some early Christian poet composed this tribute and Paul introduced it into his epistle in order to restore perspective to a church which had lost its sense of priorities. Affirming that all human accomplishments pale in the absense of love (I Cor 13:1–3), it depicts both the negative and the positive ways in which love is expressed and concludes with a tribute to its enduring quality (I Cor 13:8-13).