God is Love
John 3:16 (NIV)
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1 Peter 1:23 (NIV)
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Galatians 5:22 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love….
The month of February holds Valentine’s Day. Not lust, but true love is its theme. God is love. As such, He is the author of true love.
The moment you received Jesus as your Savior by faith, God sowed His Spirit and His Word into your heart like a seed, and you were spiritually born again by the incorruptible seed of the Word of God. (1 Pet. 1:23) And just like apples always produce apples and oranges always produce oranges, God’s seed inside of you immediately began to produce God! And the first fruit of the Spirit is LOVE. (Gal. 5:22) Agape love is a God-originated love. There is no higher, finer, or more excellent love than agape love. Agape occurs when an individual sees, recognizes, understands, or appreciates the value of an object or a person, causing the viewer to behold this object or person in great esteem, awe, admiration, wonder and sincere appreciation. Such great respect is awakened in the heart of the observer for the object or person he is beholding that he is compelled to love it. In fact, His love for that person or object is so strong that it is irresistible. In the New Testament, possibly the best example of agape is found in John 3:16, For God so LOVED the world; the greek word for love there is agape. This means that when God looked on the human race, He stood in awe of mankind, even though man was lost in sin. God admired man; He wondered at man; He held mankind in the highest appreciation. Even though mankind was held captive by Satan at that moment, God looked upon the world and saw His own image in man. The human race was so precious to God and He loved man so deeply that His heart was stirred to reach out and DO something to save Him. In other words, God’s love drove Him to action.
You see, agape is a love that loves so profoundly that it knows no limits or boundaries in
how far, wide, high and deep it will go to show that love to its recipient. If necessary, agape love will even sacrifice itself for the sake of that object or person it so deeply cherishes. Agape is the highest form of love – a self-sacrificial type of love that moves the lover to action. Agape is a love that has no strings attached. It isn’t looking for what it can GET, but for what it can GIVE. Its awe of the one who is loved is so deep that it is compelled to shower love upon that object or person regardless of the response. This is the profound love God has for the human race, He loved man when he was still lost in sin with no ability to love Him back. God simply loved mankind without any thought or expectation of receiving love in return.
Practical application of what’s been said….. If agape is the basis of your sexual relationship with your spouse, you will always seek to serve and please your spouse rather than being self-centered and focused only on your needs. If agape is the basis of your family relationships, you will always remain devoted to your family, regardless of the disappointments that may occur along the way. And if agape is the basis of your friendships, you will be a faithful, immoveable friend for life rather than a come-and-go friend who is faithful only as long as you get what you want out of the relationship. You may ask, “How can I possess such a love? It will not be a product of the flesh, but because the seed of God’s Word has been sown into your own human spirit, the potential for this divine love is within you all the time. If you let the Spirit of God release it from your heart, you will discover and enjoy the fruit of the Spirit called love (agape). This high-level love is already inside you. Now it’s time for you to free that love and allow the Holy Spirit to manifest in your life! “…… God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” God’s love displayed will change our world!
It’s God’s “game-changer.”
“All men will KNOW you are my disciples if you love one another.”
John 13:34