...Love...

Love, it all starts with love. The word used in Galatians 5.22 is agape. Most people who have spent time in the church have probably heard this word explained as unconditional love that God has for us. That's true, but that's only part of it.

God

The word agape, in regards to God, shows three things. First, this word is a declaration of the mode in which God's love is manifested (John 3.16); second, this word shows the attitude of God towards us (John 3.16); third this word expresses the essential nature of God (1 John 4.8).

The word agape is love seen in action. God sent His Son to the world. This is the mode in which God shows us His love, He willingly sacrificed his own Son so that we might have life. The word agape shows the unconditional and self-sacrificial love of God. The attitude of God towards us is that we are worth whatever cost it will take. We are worth saving because He has this unconditional love for us. The word agape shows us the essential characteristic of God, God is love. God is agape. God in His core, in His essential being, His very character, is Love.

God cannot help but love us, He cannot stop loving us. He will not stop loving us, and He has no desire to stop loving us.

The word agape is love expressed through action, it is unconditional and self sacrificial. The word agape is the Love of God.

But the Fruit of the Spirit, is something that is to be produced in us. I, as I strive to become like Christ, must love as He loves.

1 Corinthians 13 talks about love. I hear it read at many weddings, and yes, this is how we are to love each other, but more than that, 1 Corinthians 13 talks about how God loves us. It talks about how I am to love others, but I think it goes one step farther. It tells me how I am to love God.

If I am striving to become more like Christ, then I must love as He loves. This is not just loving people like He loves people, that is part of it for sure, Jesus talks about it in John 15.12, "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you."

The characteristic here is agape, the love of God. It is the love expressed through action, unconditional, self-sacrificial love. It is the way that God loves me, and has shown me through giving me life both by creation and by salvation.

This is the way that I am to love others. This is the way that I am to love God. Philippians 3 tells us that whatever was gain is loss compared to knowing Christ. Philippians 1 says that to live is Christ and to die is gain. Love expressed through action.

God, help me to love as you love. Help me to love people as you love people, and to love you as you love me.

Peace be with you