The Essence of Agape Love

LIVE from the Mecca of Mormonism – Salt Lake City, Utah. THIS is Heart of the Matter, where we do all we can to help people walk toward His love.

Show 19A Agape Love Defined
Taped December 1st
Aired December 8th 2019

Let’s take a word of prayer.
PRAYER

Two weeks ago we had a show on how LOVE is what Jesus commanded the scribe to exhibit in his life – toward God completely and then toward neighbor as self. Last week I imposed a sports analogy upon you about how LOVE is the GOAL – but how faith in the face of opposition, is the means by which we reach the end zone of love – which is what God desires of all of His children.

Finally, in the fourth part of what we called, Hear Me Out, we described the focus of Heart of the Matter here in Redux – how it is ultimately to the Sons and Daughters of God – YOU, I trust – who live and operate in this world in ways that are not embraced, or understood, or desired by the rest of His Creations.

Understanding Agape Love

Taking all of these things tonight, I want to get to the heart of the matter on Agape Love – and in some of the things I will say, I’m sure even some of you die-hard fans will recoil. It’s okay. I recoil too. And frankly, I fail in many ways to live up to what we are about to talk about but that is the levels of Agape Love that God appears to want His children, His Sons and Daughters to have.

Let’s begin by a passage from the New Testament which ironically teaches us some fundamental principles about Agape Love – meaning what it really is. And that passage is a classic passage, John 3:16.

Insights from John 3:16

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

OF course, we know by now that God is love. But what might escape us in this passage is that as love and in that love, “God so loved the World, that He GAVE . . .” God gave. It is a fundamental of God and therefore of love, that those who love GIVE. What do they give? What did God give? Himself. His only begotten Son. His very Word made flesh which He gave to the world which He loved so much it moved Him to give Him to it – to us.

So, one of the founding essentials of Godly love is giving and it is giving of what matters most – the very things of ourselves. Agape love is not giving what doesn’t matter or what is convenient or easy. It is the sacrificial giving up of what we hold dear – for the benefit of others, WHO do NOT deserve it.

For God (the ultimate) so loved the world (and undeserving group) that He gave (a verb, an action – what? What did He give) His only begotten Son. ONLY (so he gave what was most precious) HIS (what He possessed) only (someone extremely valuable to His person) begotten Son. We know what motivated God to do this – His great love – but why did He do it?

“that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” There was a purpose in the gift – to benefit humankind – bless them, and give them the opportunity to choose Him, and to avoid perishing (suffering ruin) but instead granting them eternal life.

Characteristics of Agape Love

So taking all of this as foundational, we too can see that our love ought to be:

• Toward all – even those who are undeserving – as God so loved the world.
• That it ought to be based in generosity. (that he gave)
• That it ought to be the sacrificial giving up of things dear to us (his only begotten Son)
• That it is compassionate and caring (that whoso believe on Him should not perish)
• That would benefit others (but have eternal life)

Herein we discover a pretty good definition of Agape Love or the love I promote as supremely important in the Christian life.

So let’s discuss these five subcategories derived from John 3:16.

First Godly love is toward all

Agape Love: Faith-Driven and For All

– the world – that He so loved.

Last week we touched on Godly love being driven by faith in what Jesus commands. In other words, Jesus says forgive seven times seventy, and trusting Him, we do. The product of trusting Him and His words is ???? That’s right. Agape love.

We then know from scripture that Agape love is the fruit of the spirit. So putting this all together we know that our Godly Agape Love is faith-driven, producing the fruit of the Spirit AND THAT God’s sons and daughters are to give it to THE WORLD. All the world. Every person in the world. Always.

We talked about the scribe who came to Jesus and asked how to obtain eternal life and how Jesus let him quote the law which is to love God and neighbor. But to His own disciples Jesus took this even further, saying in Matthew 5:43-45

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Universal Love Mandate

And so to us – sons and daughters of God – irrespective of denominational affiliation or various religious practices and allegiances – there must be agape love for all, all the time, always. To those we love as family, romantically as friends – of course – start there. To neighbors, and associates, colleagues and others – sure. Then Jesus says to those who are our enemies, who despitefully use and abuse us – giving sacrificial love – yes.

This includes those who simply annoy us – they are some of the hardest for me to love. But I want to include some groups that might even be more difficult to love sacrificially and honestly from the heart –

Challenging Groups to Love

Those we are prejudiced against. Let’s be honest: we all have pet prejudices as citizens of mortal flesh. But as Sons and Daughters we are NOT our flesh, but the new woman and new man within us. If our God so loved the WORLD – then we should too – and every single person on it. All races – with all their unique and divergent ways that are so foreign to us. All lifestyles – the L G B T Q and I.

Whether believers or not. Look around. If such are brothers or sisters, even more reason, but if not, how will they ever be If they do not receive love from us as His Children. Look. Let’s get to brass tacks here. This vast world is full of all types of lifestyles. And whatever they are, they are going to do what they do, and live like they live whether we receive them in love or judge them in our hearts and refuse them.

God so loved this world. The WORLD! So will His children. Love, the different. Love the same. Love the totally messed up. Love the proper and refined.

Love the homosexuals, the bi-sexuals, the pan-sexuals, the heterosexuals. Love the deviants, the drug users and abusers and addicted, the accomplished and the drop dead broken and destitute and those filled with sin. Love the criminals, the rapists, the child molesters, the murders, the thieves, the liars, the humanists, the witches, the protestants, and cultists, the worst of the worst, love the best of the best – the rich, the arrogant, the worldly, the fake, the phonies, the proud and the most decrepit, predatory, salacious on earth.

Children of God are children . . . of . . . God. Who is love. Who so loved the world. I would submit, though I fail at loving someone who makes a bad lane change, that the Sons and Daughters of God, who are known by their love, LOVE all always and without exception.

For God so LOVED the world . . . That He GAVE.

And this leads us to our second point about our agape love and what it looks like –

“That it ought to be based in generous giving.”

Why? Because God, who so loved the world, GAVE . . . Intrinsic to Agape Love is the action of giving. Why giving? Because fundamental to giving is selflessness and fundamental

Selflessness and Sacrificial Giving

Selflessness or selfishness. God SO LOVED (the world) that He gave – that is consummate selflessness- which is part of His very nature. He gives the rain and the sun and provision for the just and the unjust alike – and so do His children – as His children. The giving is not money – though it might be – it depends on how much a son or daughter loves their money. But it is the giving of whatever is necessary for the welfare and benefit of someone in need.

Time. Attention. Care. Comforting words. A listening ear. An open heart. Empathy. Sympathy. A place to rest. Material goods. Encouragement. Moral support. Physical assistance. Prayers. Calls. Emails. Texts. Especially in times of need. A giving nature. A helping hand. Assistance where they lack. Freely.

Sacrificial Generosity

What is the basis of giving? It is sacrificial – which leads us to the third point taken from John 3:16:

Our Generosity is sacrificially based.

Galatians 2:20 says: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.”

These passages explain that Agape love is the giving of something greater for the benefit of something lesser. Meaning, if it is only giving that is convenient and easy, it is not the same thing as giving that is painful, sacrificial and incurs a loss. The ultimate example of this is of course God who had an only human son of flesh and bone take on life here among us and live it consummately sacrificially – by both the giver (God) and the Son (Jesus).

The agape love we, as His Sons and Daughters, therefore, is seen when we set our will, and ways, and flesh, and submit them to God and His will and ways and Spirit. When we lay our life down for His causes and for the benefit of others. “Greater love has no person than he or she who lays down their life for their friends.” Certainly, we can understand this by looking at good parents toward their children who are constantly laying down their lives (their time, their means, their will and ways) for their children. But God calls on His daughters and Sons to engage in such sacrificial love for all.

Compassionate Care

Next, or fourth, is the love is based in compassionate care. “For . . . God so love the world (unconditional love for all). . . that He gave (generous love for all) . . . his only begotten son (sacrificial love for all) that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish (compassionate, caring love for all) . . .

God gave His Son to the world and the first reason given is to that those who receive Him by faith would not perish. Suffer loss. Are in pain. Endure ruin. We too, as His children seek to abate the ruin of others. We long and seek for their wellbeing through compassionate care but this is not the end-game. We do it with the hope that it will end with them not only escaping ruin but having eternal life.

And so we do it all in the name and cause and spirit of being Christians. Our last factor in Christian love – that we do it as a benefit to the life of others – whether this life here (in the name and cause of Jesus) or the life to come. This final step enables us to not act (which is an action) in the name of the welfare of the soul of another. What I mean is we can greet a drug addict on the street and offer them unconditional generous sacrificial compassionate and caring love for their benefit that does not include giving them money. Because that act might contribute to their earthly or eternal detriment. So by withholding money but giving them time and attention and care, and love – all five of the elements of agape love can be present.

So, to conclude – Agape Love might, at least in part, be defined as:

• Unconditional love for all (that is):
• Generously giving
• Sacrificial of self
• Compassionate and caring
• For the benefit or well being of the person’s life here and/or beyond.

Write your comments below! And remember what John the Beloved said in 1st John 4:11 – “Beloved, if God so loved us,

The Teaching of Love One Another

“We ought also to love one another.”

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