Love

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34–35 KJV).

There are many aspects that we see emphasized in Scripture regarding love. Much writing is geared toward having a love for God, having love for the things of God, having love for the people of God, and then what I think is most important, possessing the very love of God itself. It’s the latter that we will begin to give greater focus. The love of God, known as agape, at work in the believer, becomes the greatest tool for transformation on the Earth.

When a believer learns how to live their life, led by love, and governed by wisdom, glory is sure to become evident in every place within the sphere of their reach. One of the greatest jewels that could ever be found in this life is a believer who allows God‘s love to be consistently expressed and encountered through them. Very rarely will one encounter this depth of love and remain unchanged.

As children of God, we are admonished to reflect the nature of our Father. Love is one of the foremost characteristics that captures the essence of God. This most prominent feature must certainly be expressed through all of His children. Love is not just something that God does, or wants, or desires—it is the most distinguishing attribute of who God is. The Scripture tells us that when we know God, we will also love like Him. It’s only as we encounter this love that we’re empowered to impart it unto others. Meaning that what we have received from Him, we’re able to share and deposit into the life of others.

There are three primary variations of love that are commonly mentioned in Scripture:

Philos: brotherly love, kindness, goodwill shared amongst friends.

Euros: sensual love for the opposite sex, relationship type of affection.

Agape: the God-like love. It is a self-giving love that gives freely without asking anything in return, and does not consider the worth of its object. Agape is a love by choice, and it refers to the will rather than the emotion. It’s unconditional love; no conditions, no requirements ... it loves and loves freely.

We must first realize that love is NOT some weak and uncontrollable emotion. Rather it’s a powerful force that you should exercise the discipline to intentionally release and direct. It’s not the subjugated result of chance, but rather a mature and selfless expression of choice. We learn from many scriptures that we are to model what we saw and learned from Jesus, meaning that we possess the capacity and the choice to love those whom we encounter. While this may not be a natural emotion that immediately rises for some, it is within the ability of the believer, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5).

In Jesus’ inaugural message, the Beatitudes, He begins laying out the constitution of this new kingdom that He has brought with Him. In Matthew 5:43–48, He begins to deal with this most critical aspect of love, and how it’s the true test that reflects our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Love is powerful.

Before launching into further study, we must make the decision of our will to both love first and love last. By loving first, I mean that we willfully extend love to all we engage. Like the Father, we should lead with love. We learn in Romans 5:8 (KJV), “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” To love last means that no matter what happens from the time we met, we’ll always part making the decision to love last. We will not allow mistreatment, scandal, betrayal, or any form of punishment to cause us to withhold what was freely given unto us. This is a supernatural work, and by this, all men shall know that you are my disciples indeed … for no one can do this on their own strength. Yet, this does not mean that we continuously position ourselves to be taken advantage of.

Questions:

(1) What does having capacity to love like God mean to you?

(2) If love is a distinguishing mark of followers for Christ, how can we start today releasing the love of God to others?

(3) What does Matthew 5:46–48 mean to you?

Transformative Prayer:

Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit, I will love those whose paths I cross. Help me yield to your love through me. I know it’s a powerful force that will not only release others from the grip of darkness, but also allow it to liberate me from all demonic ensnarements, in Jesus’ name, amen.