Charity is most eloquently shown in the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God is Love … and His Love will ever be! It is difficult to talk about God without talking about love, because God IS Love! The word 'love' appears in God’s Word 281 times, the plural ‘loves’ 3 times and ‘loved’ 89 times.
There are different types of love in the Bible, translated with different Greek words to represent the type of love associated with the passage. For instance, brotherly love (phileo), romantic love (eros), family love (storge) and God’s divine love (agape).
‘Charity’ (24 instances) is a translation of the Greek word agape, the highest form of love, representing God’s love of man and man’s love of God. The word ‘charity” is also associated with acts of kindness.
A common Bible passage read at weddings is 1Corinthians Chapter 13, which talks about all of the attributes of CHARITY. CHARITY is the most favorable of attributes in 1Cor.13:13 – “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” Note that modern “bible” versions change the word ‘charity’ to ‘love’.
Hebrews 11:1 defines FAITH as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Romans 15:13 describes HOPE as being filled “with all joy and peace in believing … through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Re-read the above passages about FAITH and HOPE and consider that God calls CHARITY greater!
Writers: G.Wilson, K.Heiligenthal, G.Strand
Comments