What is Agape Love? And are we loving others enough?

What is Agape (pronounced: agápē) Love? I asked the Lord the same thing after He told me that He was Agape Love. It was something that I wanted to understand on a deeper level. It was something that I had to understand. If God took enough time to tell me that He was this specific kind of love, it was beneficial for me to understand it, to understand the God who loves me more than I'll ever realize. Eventually, I came to see that this love can only come from our Heavenly Father. It's love beyond our understanding, but it's the love that God has for us.

According to some internet searches, I was right in my belief. Here's one definition that backed up what God was leading me to understand: Agape is used by Christians to express the unconditional love of God for His children.

But is that enough? I think we must understand what love is to understand agape.

Love is deep affection for other people. It doesn't have to be sexual love, and it certainly isn't lust. Love means caring about someone, willing to do anything for that person, and making sure that they are being taken care of, that they aren't suffering.

But love is deeper than this. GOD is love. (1 John 4:8)

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God understands love like we could never understand it. I think a mother's love is close to God love because they gave birth to that child, and since God created us, it has to be a similar love. But, still, I believe the way God loves is much deeper. Why?

Because of John 3:16.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God watched His Son die, so that we may live. Would you willingly give up your child? Even if it meant saving the world? I don't think I could do that. I don't think that I'd be able to sacrifice someone so precious to me, yet God did. 

So we see that because God loves us, He gave us the most precious gift in the world, eternal salvation through sacrificing His only Son.

But that's not the only gift that God has given us. He has given us His grace (unmerited favor) through His Son.  

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

Remember, God is love. Because He is love, He turns curses to blessings! Which ties in to grace because through grace we get these blessings. (Deuteronomy 23:5) Also, read Deuteronomy 28 if you want to know the blessings you'll get just from loving God back and obeying His commandments! This will also give you an idea of the curses He's turned to blessings!

but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.

See, this article isn't even long enough to describe just how much God loves us. Because when we try to break it down, it's impossible to count the ways that God (Agape Love) has shown us His love. What about when you were down and depressed, and He lifted you back up? Or when He gave you that job you were praying for? Or when He healed you? Or how about when you did absolutely nothing deserving of love, but He gave it to you anyway?

If God can love us unconditionally, no matter how many stupid mistakes we make, why can't we love others the same way? If this agape love is burning inside of us (It is because we've accepting God as savior.), then why can't we look at that person who hurt us and forgive them for doing whatever it was they did?

God is agape love. When we know God, we have His love inside of us. We have the ability to show God's love to others, but are we doing enough? We certainly aren't doing what He's doing, and we'll never be the kind of love God is, but we have enough of it inside of us to show others what true love really is. God.

God loved us enough to send His Son to earth with the whole purpose to die. Die. Can you imagine that being your only purpose for being alive? Could you imagine being the father or mother who knew that your child was doomed to die from the moment they were born, knowing that you could stop it, but you wouldn't? Because that would ruin everything. That would be the end of forgiveness, grace and mercy as you knew it, but God loved us enough to not to stop it. He loved us enough to watch His child DIE. He watched a part of Himself die just so that we, humans, could live. Is that the love running through you today? Of course it is, but what are we doing with this love?

I'm not saying it's easy because it's not. We let our emotions rule us, but when you think about all that God is, all that God does, shouldn't we at least try to love like our Father? Like the one who would do anything to show us that He does love us?

Agape love is deeper than the love we know, but we can tap into it. We have access to that love because God is love, and He's living within us. What more can we do today to show that love to others?

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

I've been in discussion with some people on Facebook about how bullying fat people is acceptable. Someone who isn't fat said she was bullied for being too skinny, and it made me wonder, why is it okay to judge others based on looks? Why is okay to bully, period? And it was a simple answer. There's just not enough love in the world.

I'm sure that you've heard of the Love Chapter in the Bible before, 1 Corinthians 13, and I'm sure that most of you have heard it being referenced in weddings or church at some point in your life. But have you really thought about what it says?

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Did you see that? Without love, we are nothing! You can have everything, every spiritual gift, every natural gift, but if you don't love, you're nothing.

So what does love do?

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;  bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. (1 Corinthian 13: 4-8 NKJV)

Don't you think that if there were more love in the world, we wouldn't have to deal with the awful things that happen to us?

But love goes deeper than this. It's actually a commandment given to us by God. It's a law that we love one another.

As you can see by this list, God has commanded us to love in these verses:

Leviticus 19:28

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: 

Matthew 22: 36-40

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

 Mark 12:30-33

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’There is no other commandment greater than these.”
So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

John 13:34

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

I think it's safe to say that we ought to love God first and then love people as much as we love ourselves. But how much do you love yourself? Do you tend to love others more or less than yourself? If these verses say that you ought to love others as much as you love yourself, how much are you lacking in love towards yourself or others?

Let's go back to what love does? Are you kind towards yourself or others? Do you behave rudely to yourself or others? Are you puffed up in anyway? Do you rejoice in truth? Believe? Hope? Endure? Are you love?

I think we need to just sit back and think about this love. We can't love God without loving others. It's impossible, so if we can't love the woman who is overweight or too skinny, or someone has committed a crime, how can we say that the love of God is in us? That we love God? We can't.

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.(Romans 12:9)

Spread the love today. In everything you do, love. Because love makes the world a better place.

Let all that you do be done with love. (1 Corinthians 16:14)