Redefining Definitions, and other words.

Before you start 'hatin on me', this is not another post on the redefinition of marriage, which I've blogged about before (my best post is this one,  written at the close of the public consultation). Instead, this is a post that reflects an idea that has been dancing around my head for months, and inspired by that gifted communicator, Rob Bell. Now, I'm not a huge fan of everything that Rob Bell preaches, but I do think all Christians can learn something from how he says things, even if what he says is often a bit strange, or worse. In probably my favourite book of his, "Sex God". Rob nails it as he talks about what we mean when we talk about things, in his case Sex/God;

"So it's a picture, but its more than a picture.

This physical thing - this picture, trophy, artefact  gift - is actually about that relationship  that truth, that reality, that moment in time.

This is actually about That"

Rob Bell is writing here about sexuality, so being a Brit I'm going to brush that aside and talk about words. Because, when you think about it, words are quite important. When we say this, we can often mean that, and occasionally the person we are talking with is actually referring to this(2). In order to have a dialogue about anything, we need to agree on definitions, on what words mean, and how we are going to use them. Otherwise we are just idiots shouting gobbledygook at each other. And no-one wants to be a non-communicating idiot. I think.

Let's take 'God', for example. What we mean by God is incredibly important - not least for those of us who have a relationship with God. If by 'God' you mean what Richard Dawkins means, then trying to talk to me (or any thoughtful, orthodox Christian) about 'God' is going to be frustrating - we won't be talking about the same thing. The word 'God' is both a word that describes a classification of something (often misused), and a word that is a name for a specific 'thing'. When Christians of a more traditional persuasion say the Creed in Church, God is quite clearly defined. When someone of a more progressive bent opens their conversation with "God is Love", then God isn't quite so clearly defined. Oftentimes, definition when talking about God is incredibly helpful.

Love, then, is another word. A word used to cover a multitude of sins, explain a myriad of quirks, and paper over a million human disagreements. Love as a word, as a thing, as a brand, is over-used. In English, we often use it because it is shorter than "am infatuated", "adore", "fairly fond of", "growing increasingly attached to" - yet these all mean quite different things. I had a number of friends growing up who were gutted when a boy/girl broke up with them: "they said they loved me". Maybe, but did you know what that love meant, what form of intent was behind it? Love is nebulous, tangible word.  When Christians say 'God' is 'Love', we should mean more than that. If we pluck just those three words out of Scripture, even the bits of Scripture authored by John (who wrote his eponymous Gospel and three little letters), we miss out on a lot. Of defining. Of going deeper. Of learning about Love.

Jesus was pretty hot on love. Seriously. Lots of his most famous sayings are expansions of the infinitely deep three-word-formula, 'God is Love'. The whole Sermon on the Mount, arguably, is Jesus trying to teach us about how to live a life of Love. Go read it - the practicalities might surprise you. Jesus is big on the effects of Love, as a couple of his one-liners from the Gospel of John demonstrate, here John 14:23;

"If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him"

This is quite strange. But lets dwell here a little. Anyone who loves Jesus (do you?) should aim to keep his word - in fact, it is an imperative, "if" you love Jesus, you "will" keep his word. His commandments. His teachings. His ethical imperatives. His Great Commission. And there are two wonderful follow ons. God the Father will love those who love Jesus. God the Father. The Creator of Heaven and Earth. God. The God who is Love - and by that orthodox Christianity means far more than some vague utopian gooey-ness - will Love you. And God will dwell in you. This is odd imagery - I believe it refers to the Holy Spirit living with and in the followers of Jesus. Because an expression of Love is being with someone, making a home with them. This verse is potentially explosive for those that long for family, for marriage, for home-making. The God of the Universe offers something better than all that - to those who love him.

The second one-liner I want to look at is a bit of a classic, an occasional cliche. It's John 3:16;

"For God so Loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life"

This is big. God LOVED the World. Everyone, everything - the word 'world' is a big word. And because of this Love - rather than just being a vaguely interested cosmic sloucher - God gave his only Son. This is key. This is a giving Love. This is a love that does, a love that results in something. And this gift was given with a purpose, as a message to be responded to; "that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life". There are a lot of words there. A lot of contentious definitions. But this verse demonstrates the Love of God in the person of Jesus, with the hope of Eternal Life. Living thats starts now - and continues eternally. The Christian message, the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, is about Love. It is a specifically defined message, the Love of God (clearly defined) for his people (clearly defined) expressed in Jesus (clearly defined). It is an invitation into a life with Jesus, where God makes his home with you and lives with you. It's an invitation out of the darkness of a life of sin, which affects us all. The definition of Christianity is a huge story, but a story of Love, Life and Redemption at its heart.

I hope you can see what I'm getting at. That the definitions of things really matter. If God had loved us with the love of a schoolboy for his girlfriend, I don't think it would be worth much, cosmically. But God loves us so passionately, so absoultely, so totally that he desires that we would believe in Jesus. For his Glory, and so that he could bring us into life. I love the Rob Bell quote I opened with. Do you ever thing Christians are talking about something thats really exciting - or just background noise? Are we talking about 'This', when we should be talking about 'That'? The Gospel is just that - really exciting, worth defining, worth exploring, worth talking about. 

________

I hope this post has tickled your little grey cells. I'd be overjoyed if it prompts you to think again about Jesus. Please do. Think about the Truth of his Resurrection. The radical, un-boxable nature of Jesus. The person at the heart of the Christian story is Jesus - not a homophobic, bigoted, fire-breathing bearded fundamentalist, or a floaty vague liberal, but Jesus. And Jesus is big news. Words really matter - and working out what they mean is vital. Jesus is called the Word of God - why not try and find out what and who that means?

________

Thanks for reading, as ever I'd value your comments, love your shares/'likes'/Rt's and +1's.