For the last 2 weeks we have talked about God’s agape love. He is love and He demonstrated His love by providing His own Son to secure our redemption through the sacrifice of His own life. This week we begin to talk about how we live agape love. The Bible is clear that God followers will be God lovers – experience and live God’s love.
When I read about agape love, I struggle with how difficult it appears to live out this type of love. For instance we are instructed to love the family (other Jesus followers) which in and of itself can be difficult at times but also we are supposed to love losers (the least of these), winners (those who one up us), and even enemies (those we are naturally inclined to dislike). Loving those we normally neglect, envy, or hate is a God thing. We can’t conjure up agape love. It is outside of our own natural abilities.
Loving as God loves begins with embracing God’s love for us. That’s why John says that “perfect love casts out fear.” Living agape is really a fear issue. Because we know what’s behind the curtain we are often afraid to be loved or to love. Allowing someone to love me means that I have to open my life to them and allow them in. I have to allow them to see the good and the bad – my strengths and weaknesses. I have to allow myself to be accepted by someone who might judge me. That’s why we often keep God and others at an arm’s length. Being loved is frightening.
Loving someone else is also a frightening endeavor. When we allow ourselves to love someone with the agape love of God we are saying to that person: “I accept you for who you are. I trust you.” Agape love opens itself up for betrayal and hurt. Agape love believes the best about someone. Agape love trusts those who may or may not deserve our trust. Agape love says “I am making myself vulnerable to you.” Agape love is SCARY!!!
That’s why learning to love as God loves begins with experiencing God’s perfect love for us. Only as we begin to embrace God’s unchanging, eternal love for us can we begin to live out this type of love to others. Only when we replace fear with trust can we begin to love with agape love.
God is love and those who are connected to Him will love with God’s love. Perfectly? Not yet but as His love becomes a part of who I am, as I learn to be loved and to love – as I become a God lover, then I begin to demonstrate God’s love for other sinners – just like me.