“Love is patient and kind…love does not rejoice about injustice…LOVE NEVER FAILS (love: agapē: the fatherly love of God for humans, as well as the human reciprocal love for God.)” (1 Corin. 13:4, 6, 8) Agapē love involves faithfulness, commitment, and an act of our will to respond to this godly love. It is distinguished from the other types of love by its LOFTY AND HOLY MORAL NATURE and strong character. It’s not the love we’re born with, that love is selfish. When we get saved, God put’s agapē in us so we can function as Christ’s Ambassadors. We know this because “God SO LOVED (agapaō) the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that THE WORLD through Him MIGHT BE SAVED.” (John 3:16-17)
God’s agape love is unmerited, gracious, and constantly seeking the benefit of the ones He loves. The Bible says we are the undeserving recipients of His lavish agape love, “See what GREAT LOVE (agapē) the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And THAT IS WHAT WE ARE! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, for we shall SEE HIM AS HE IS.” (1 John 3:1-2)
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I SAY, LOVE (agapaō) YOUR ENEMIES! PRAY FOR THOSE WHO PERSECUTE YOU! In that way, you will be acting as TRUE CHILDREN OF YOUR FATHER in heaven. For He gives His sunlight to both the evil and the good, and He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.” (Matt. 5:43-45)
-Bill Stockham