this is amusing to me, as the book is only 4 pages long in the message bible.
however, i found i couldn't relate with some elements & moved on.
and then i took a moment this morning to ask myself:
why can't i relate?
what are those elements?
the answer was this:
i couldn't relate with the intensity of love that paul expressed toward the thessalonians.
he genuinely loved them.
an intense philos love.
and that doesn't compute for me.
to me, philos love is a just nice, pleasant thing.
i'm unfamiliar with it having the passion of eros.
to hear it expressed to that level seems fraudulent, insincere.
but as i've gone back & read it over, it's completely sincere.
paul really liked these people!
so my passion paradigms are shifting a smidge this morning:
aching passion can be expressed in friendship & platonic appreciation.
that doesn't jive with me quite yet, but i'm open to examples.
today, i'm questioning the boundaries & limits i've placed on these relationships in my life.
