There is an obscure people group in Northern Europe, in northern Finland, Norway, and Russia, called the Sami People. They live not far from the arctic circle and, of course, have much more exposure to ice and snow than we do here in south Louisiana. As a result, whereas we have only a couple of words, “ice” or “snow” – and hardly ever use them! — the Sami have hundreds of different words which describe various colors, textures, and uses, among other things, for frozen water. Thus, if we were to translate a Sami word for “snow”, we might be thinking of one general thing, but they a very different and specific thing altogether.
That is always a potential issue when you are dealing with a word which was written in one language, and has been translated into another. You may know that it is so with scripture: the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, and we have translated it into English. This is very applicable as we address the topic of “love” in the Bible, because, as some of you know, there are several different Greek words, all of which we in English might translate “love”, but which have greatly differing meanings. Thus before we get into the description of love which we find in I Corinthians 13:4 and following, we need to stop at the very first word: “Love.” We need to stop right there, because that very first word is a difference maker! We need to take some time to examine the real meaning of this word, because when we read the word “love”, we may be thinking of one thing, when the Bible word has an entirely different meaning altogether. So let’s read this great chapter together again, and then come back and look at the meaning of the word “love” which is used here to describe: “The Real Thing: A Different Kind of Love.” Continue reading
shawnethomas 