Agape (Love)
The climax of Jesus’ revelation about the nature of God is: “God is agape.” (1 John, 4: 8)
The Greek word “Agape” means the love that finds delight in aiming at the good of the loved one.
The theme of the entire Bible is the self-revelation of the God of love.
The Bible says that God does not merely love; he is love. Everything that God does flows from his love, and we can define love only by the nature of God.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (1 John 3:16).
In Jesus’ death, we see the depth of God’s love.
“This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John, 4: 10)
God the Father loves the Son (John 5:20; 17:23, 26) and made his will known to him.?
Jesus, the Son, loves the Father (John 14:31) and demonstrated his love to the Father through his submission and obedience to the death on the cross.
God alone is the source of love (1 John 4:7-8); he “poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Rom 5:5). God's love then awakens a response in those who accept it.
We love each other as a result of his loving us first. (1 John, 4:19)
“Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love has been brought to full expression through us.” (1 John, 4: 11-12)
Love is the only way of knowing God.
“Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God - for God is love.” (1 John, 4: 7-8)
And since God’s love is offered to all, so our love should be universal.
Our “neighbours” are not only our friends and relatives, or our compatriots.
Many people in Jesus' day believed that a neighbor was a fellow Israelite. When asked to define “neighbor,” however, Jesus cited the parable of the good Samaritan person who knowingly crossed traditional boundaries to help a wounded Jew (Luke 10:29-37). A neighbor is anyone who is in need. Jesus also told his disciples that a "neighbor" might even be someone who hates them, curses them, or mistreats them. Yet they must love even enemies (Luke 6:27-36) as a witness and a testimony.
The Old Testament commandment was to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18). But Jesus gave his disciples a new command with a radically different motive:
“Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) Paul affirms that “the entire law is summed up in a single command: “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Gal 5:14) James sees the command to love one another as a “royal law.” (James 2:8)
Love for neighbor is a decision that we make to treat others with respect and concern, to put the interests and safety of our neighbors on a level with our own. It demands a practical outworking in everyday life.
Our actions illustrate our love. Love for neighbor is “love in action,” doing something specific and tangible for others.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John, 3: 18)
Believers need to share with those in need, whether that need is for food, water, lodging, clothing, healing, or friendship. (Matt 25:34-40; Rom 12:13) The love demonstrated in the parable of the good Samaritan shows that agape-love is not emotional love, but a response to someone who is in need.
The command to love others is based on how God has loved us. Since believers have been the recipients of love, they must love. Since Christ has laid down his life for us, we must be willing to lay down our lives for our brothers. (1 John 3:16)
Love is the motivation for Evangelization as well.
The love of God and the love for our neighbor urges us to share with all people the gift we have received.
St. Paul summarizes his call to Evangelization by saying, “Christ's love compels us to become ambassadors for Christ, with a ministry of reconciliation.”(2 Cor 5:14-21)
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