THE AGAPE LOVE OF GOD.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 TLB

Love is very patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, [5] never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. [6] It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. [7] If you love someone, you will be loyal to him no matter what the cost. You will always believe in him, always expect the best of him, and always stand your ground in defending him.


Love! What is love? Are there different kinds of love? 

Jesus taught that the greatest commandments were to love God and to love our neighbours in Mark 12:30.

When we truly love people the way Jesus expects, we wouldn’t do most of the things we do, especially the ones done under the emotional blackmail of “because I love”.

Emptiness is produced when any form of genuine love is absent. Yet, we seem to have found a way to justify and explain our love that is contrary and totally against the love of God.

God’s love is forgiving! And because God has set the example for us, our love also is expected to be forgiving.

We may be able to understand a God who would forgive sinners who come to him for mercy. But a God who tenderly searches for sinners and then joyfully forgives them must possess an extraordinary love! This is the kind of love that prompted Jesus to come to earth to search for lost people and save them. This is the kind of extraordinary love that God has for you. If you feel far from God, don’t despair. He is searching for you as declared in Romans 8:28-39, “I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Love is more spiritual than emotional and physical, because it is the Spirit of God that induces love among families -Storge love, between friends-Phila, romantic or passionate love- Eros, Philautia, finally, is self-love, which can be healthy or unhealthy and Agape which is universal love, such as the love for strangers, nature, or God. Unlike storge, it does not depend on filiation or familiarity. Also called charity by Christian thinkers, agape can be said to encompass the modern concept of altruism, as defined as unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

By far the most frequent Greek word for love used in the New Testament is agape. Agape refers to moral goodwill that comes from respect, principle, or duty rather than attraction. Agape is very similar in meaning to the Hebrew word hesed because both involve a sense of dedication. Agape specifically means to love the undeserving, despite disappointment and rejection. Agape is especially appropriate for divine love. Agape love is what the scriptures commands us to express but society has taken love and twisted it to something ugly, selfish, materialist and manipulating.

Somebody professes to love another but keep doing harmful thing to them, even committing murder all in the name of love.

The fullness of love is described by what love does. Love is action, not abstraction. Positively, love is patient with people and gracious to them with generosity. Negatively, love never envies, or brags, or is arrogant, since that is the opposite of selfless service to others. Never rude or overbearing, love never wants its own way, is not irritated or angered in personal offense, and finds no pleasure in someone else’s sin, even the sin of an enemy. On the positive side again, love is devoted to truth in everything. Regarding “all things” within God’s righteous and gracious will, love protects, believes, hopes, and endures what others reject. Love believes the best of others and hopes the best for them. Sandwiched between bears and endures are believes and hopes in all relationships. 

Know! Understand! And exhibit Godkind of love!

PRAYER: Father, thank you for loving so much, help me to genuinely love people because you first loved me in Jesus’ name, amen.

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/womenoflight/episodes/THE-AGAPE-LOVE-OF-GOD-e2t7k4k

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