Love in focus

The word “love” used to have pizzazz, oomph, zing. It got you in the gut.

These days, though, the word love is like a stretched-out T-shirt. We use it to describe our feelings for everything from quiet walks or our favorite pizza to TV programs, our spouse and God.

But add the adverb “passionately,” and love snaps back into focus.

PASSIONATELY is hot, urgent. It has to restrain itself to avoid consuming.

“I love you … passionately,” God says, and I feel his love, alive and burning.*

• While “passionately” does not appear in standard Bible translations, some paraphrases use a form of the word, indicating that the meaning is strongly implied in the word “jealous.”

For you shall worship no other god; for the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a jealous (impassioned) God …

~ Exodus 34:14 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

You must not bow down to another god, because the Lord is passionate: the Lord’s name means “a passionate

God.” ~ Common English Bible