(June 12, 2016 at 4:52 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote:Quote:34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:34-40
Love... perhaps the greatest mystery of all. Is it a feeling, or is it a choice? The greatest commandment says to love God with all your heart. This would seem to imply that love is a choice, that we can choose to love or not love God.
The greeks believed love was sub divided into four distinct form or expressions. (and this is important because the sub-division of love expressed follows the greek model in that we have been commanded to Agape'/Love God)
Agape' was a form of respect and reverance. Agape' was a choice.
Eros was passion/emotion.
Philia was a brotherly/friend based love it too was a choice
Storge' is the type of love or bond between parent and child.
So from A historical perspective it is possible to both choose and to simply feel love, it just depends on what aspect of love one is referring to.
But here the command is for one to Agape' but the command does not end there, which kinda leads to your next questions
Quote:Those who advocate that love is a choice talk of choosing to commit to the one you love and engage in loving acts towards the loved one, but do these same choices apply to loving a disembodied spirit? Loving somebody with all your heart and mind and soul seems to speak to love as a feeling. Does the heart or soul choose? Is it possible to choose to "love God with all your heart and soul and mind"?
The command is to Agape' God with all your being. as we are only heart mind body/strength and spirit this would mean all of our aspects are needed to full fill this command. As you pointed out not all aspects are fully under our control (hence the heart wants what the heart wants.) So then this process must start with what we do have control over and that is our minds.
We must decide this full expression of Love God is asking of us is something we want to give Him. Then we simply ask God to provide us with the ability to harness and control the love he has asked us to provide.
It's simple, in that we use what he gives us to His glory and he will give us more.
