To understand Agape love, you have to first understand that there is a distinction between love as we know it and what Agape love is all about. Love is an intense feeling of deep affection, used to describe things that invoke pure emotion and delight. We tend to use the word loosely to describe things we fancy. Agape love is so much more than a feeling. It’s a promise. It’s a covenant that believers of Christ are committed to showing others. Agape Love is love but at its highest form. In 1 John 4:8 it states that, “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
Simply put, Agape love is Godly love. We can learn and appreciate the true context of this love by seeing the greatest example set by our Lord in Romans 5:8, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We also see this in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” He laid down his life for all of man-kind. This act of selflessness is rooted in Agape love.
Agape love is an action of loving others as much, if not more than, we love ourselves. Agape love is bigger than what our flesh can fathom. It is demonstrating true love through actions of service, obedience, and selflessness. As we look at how God defines the love we should have for others, we can look at how it is described in 1 Corinthians 13, specifically in verses 4-7.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” These qualities/sentiments can be applied to the way we convey Agape love to others.
In 2007, I started a residential program for sex trafficked teenage girls. I’ll never forget the first resident that arrived. She was 14 years old and had been trafficked across several state lines. She came into my office one day crying about selling her body for 50 dollars while her roommate would earn 250. She kept saying, “I sold myself so cheap.” At that moment I shared with her that her body was priceless. I talked with her about Jesus and His sacrifice that was made on the cross and that by accepting His gift of salvation her sins would be as white as snow; and through Him she could find forgiveness for others who had hurt and abused her. I reminded her that she was a child of the King and His Agape love for her was unending. This strong young lady started a jewelry making business called Queen Elizabeth’s Jewelry because she wanted the name to symbolize her royalty in Christ. She went on to get a Masters degree from an Ivy League school on a full scholarship.
Agape love can restore and encourage others to walk in their full purpose. We would love to hear from you about ways God has used you to show Agape love!
Written by Emily Reed, YadaFactor Marketing Assistant and Founder of Flagship Equip
