PREFACE

When one has once fully entered the realm of love, the world - no matter how imperfect - becomes rich and beautiful; it consists solely of opportunities for love. Soren Kierkegaard

Theoretically and theologically, Christians are the only people in the whole world recognized as those who center themselves on “love.” Now, this may or may not always be true in practical terms, but certainly, when you think of someone as a Christian, you might think of someone who is “called” to “love.” As a Believer, I struggled with understanding the concept of “Christian love” and the practical ways in which it should be reflected, as it has always been more of a theory, rather than practice in my short observation of the Church. This study was an opportunity for me to learn about the true, and then I later discovered the intended meaning of loving one another that Christ spoke of. I wanted to learn about “love” and come to an understanding of its terms, and then, to allow my own generation to join me and together, to apply this kind of “loving” to our very lives, here and now.

Constant inspiration, and a challenge, and at sometimes frustrating, was the Scripture from First John 4:7-21. As studying it in Greek was so powerful to me, I could not stop thinking about its meaning and implications! There was a mysterious connection between me and that Scripture! What did it really mean to “love,” and what was a person of belied to do when an occasion to “love” someone came up? And how about the marvelous spiritual life that emerged from that agape? Answers to these questions were within that selected Scripture, and it was my task to examine key words, especially agape, to see what they could mean for me, today.


C.S. Lewis and his Four Loves book was essential to this, as he has already done in depth study on the subject. I found the book fascinating and life changing because it opened my eyes to the many beauties which come from one idea: to agape one another, in many creative ways! It taught me how to be a better friend, why I should be prayful about my relationship, how to respond to my Creator, and what loving the other all is about!
I added emphasis in italics, underline or bold on certain words, to either make a point or to draw closer attention to a certain thought or a word presented. I also put the English word “love” into quotations, to distinguish this one way of communicating a broader concept, which is divided into smaller and clearly distinctive concepts in Greek. Thus, when a new word from Greek was introduced to properly name a specific way of loving, I later continued to use that word, to make the distinction clear and to show the reader the richness which comes from those creative ways of loving, to which all of us can respond. Another technical distinction I need to mention is the way I visualized these different forms of loving.

Think of a recipe when cooking. To make just the right dough, one needs to add certain amounts of various ingredients to make the dough the way it is supposed to be made. The dough cannot be made with just flour, or eggs and water, but it needs all of these and even more, to be formed into real dough. If one attempts to cook without a recipe and one does not know how to make dough, one will most-likely not succeed in his task. The dough will be either too hard or too watery to form anything! For how can you make dough by using just dry flour? You cannot. How can one truly love by living in accordance with affection only? Or how can a marriage last, while driven by the romantic Eros only? Can friendship exist simply because we chose our friends? None of these can exist in their own. Life would be very vague if we knew nothing, but one form of loving. Therefore, I present each of the loves as an ingredient in the overall concept, and experience of loving one another, on daily basis; here and now. The ingredients must be properly mixed together, to experience a tasty sensation and the incredible joy which comes from making the perfect dough.


I tried to avoid the word “Christian” replacing it with “Believer,” as the word “Christian” in the Western World has taken on a cultural meaning, and to be honest, no one even knows what it is supposed to mean or describe, as it has been individualistically personalized. On the other hand, a “Believer” is someone who not only claims to know something, but truly acts according to his or her beliefs. The same goes for “Christianity,” while I use it at times, I define it as a community of beloved who not only claim to be within a religious system, but make it a part of their lives, like a spiritual discipline. Such would include going to church on regular basis, to genuine worship and praise, and be involved within the community of Believers in local area, thus the term church-going people. These terms imply a genuine commitment, devotion, and passion for God and others within the community; not a religious habit.

May you enjoy this, and may it open your eyes to the greater mysteries and wonders of the overall message of God’s agape for us, shown to us through Christ’s death on the Cross. It certainly makes sense to me now.
Most Deeply,

Copyright © 2007 by Dorota Krzyzaniak
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