“LOVE NEVER FAILS. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.” (1 Corin. 13:8) This is not just any kind of love, this is GOD’S KIND OF LOVE. It is an unselfish love that is always there, totally independent of the worth of the one being loved. It is known as agapē: the highest form of love. agapē is not necessarily a feeling, but an ACTION toward others.
This is truly God’s love for us, “For God SO LOVED the world that HE GAVE His only begotten Son (His agapē action toward us), 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) Motivated by His agapē for us, Jesus suffered a very extreme form of torture and them was horribly crucified, one of the worst forms of death devised by man. On top of all these horrifying events the Father had to temporarily turn His face away from Jesus as He took our sin upon Himself. We can now say, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but CHRIST LIVES IN ME; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME.” (Gal. 2:20)
Just look at this very amazing statement of truth, “Behold WHAT MANNER OF LOVE the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has NOT YET BEEN REVEALED what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, for we shall see Him AS HE IS. And everyone who has this hope in Him PURIFIES HIMSELF, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3)
-Bill Stockham