Choosing Love

Choosing to Love

What is Love? God is love.

“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17. God was well pleased with His Son, and He loved Him.

Is God always well pleased with us? Of course not, but He still loves us.

My father’s love for me is not contingent upon my behavior. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world…” The world was and is a sin filled, wicked place, and yet God loves us.

On more than one occasion Jesus was less than pleased with Peter. There was the issue of paying taxes, then of course there was the denying of Christ three times.

John 21:15-18 – Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?

15. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

16. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

17. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

18. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.

The lesson that Peter needed to learn, and that we too need to learn, is that nothing can separate us from the love of God – “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39.

Ah, but is He our Lord? If He is then therefore, nothing should separate us from His loving us.

I wonder, if I have to earn your love is it really love?

What is Love? Love is, (1 Corinthians 13)

1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

2. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

So, again I ask, what is Love?

4. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5. Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6. Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

8. Charity never faileth:

but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

9. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

10. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

11. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

12. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

13. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

First and foremost, you must understand that while the proper translation of the Greek word “ἀγαπάω, ἀγάπη, ἀγαπητός, (transliterated at “agapa”) is charity, it’s meaning is, the expression of the total concept of LOVE.

Thus, today it would read, LOVE suffereth long, and is kind; LOVE envieth not, and so on to verse 8, LOVE never failteth.

Agape is an expression of the concept of love.

Christ agape us in that HE expressed His love for us on the cross.

Sadly, many today have no concept of this type of love. For many, love is expressed through physical contact in the bed, having no more love for another than they have for their truck, or a particular dress. (Side note: When this is done outside the marriage covenant, it is called fornication.)

In other words, we only love to fulfill our own desires or needs. It’s rarely ever about the other person, though true love, agape love is only about the other person.

Love is meant to be expressed not received.

Who do you agape?

Love cannot be well defined. It can however, be expressed. Like when a new baby is born, the parents are overwhelmed with love and they express it.

Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13. That’s how Jesus defined an act of love. One who is willing to lay down his life for another. That’s also how He expressed His love for us.

Another expression of love is what you see when someone walks a loved one to the grave.

How is it that we are to love? We don’t truly know how to love.

God is love and He knows how to love. He has set before us a great example of how we are to love. We are to love even as Jesus loved. Jesus was gentle in rebuke, longsuffering in calling us, and patient with us in growing us in our faith, and He was kind, tenderhearted and full of compassion.

Where can I see a demonstration of His love? At the cross!

Psalm 116:1-2 “I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.”

If your first response to someone doing you wrong is anger or fury you may need a spiritual checkup. God is longsuffering with His children, holding back his fury for extended periods of time. Often times giving warning after warning before finally executing judgment.

We, on the other hand, simply blow up and let the anger and rage pour out. An outburst of anger is not a Christ like response.

Love is a choice, not an emotion but the expression of an emotion, just as anger bitterness, joy, and forgiveness are choices. Don’t misunderstand me, love, or the lack thereof, is expressed through our emotions. In love, we laugh, we cry, and we even get mad, all in the name of love.

God gave each of us “freewill” but not only in regard to sin, but in regard to every aspect of our lives and how we choose to live. How we live. Are we loving or hateful, full of compassion or contempt, do we have morals or a total disregard for such things? All of these are based upon our understanding of God’s love.

Chose love over all other emotions; love never fails.

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The Bible says, “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 john 4:8.

The Well, from which God’s love comes, is never empty, and it never runs dry. All who will, may freely come and receive all they need and all they desire. The rich don’t have to pay for it, the poor don’t have to beg for it, and the middle class doesn’t have to work for it. The love of God is free. Without it, your life will seem empty and your soul destitute, your spirit dead. With it, you too will be able to love.

Love is not something you receive, it’s something you give. It is not tangible; you cannot hold it or control it, nor can you command it. It is meant to be given – freely.

Love is not an emotion, though it (or the lack of) is expressed through our emotions: through our joy, laughter, tear, and even anger. Love is so much more than an emotion but, without knowing the love of God you can never understand it; it will remain something that is expressed through sex – with or without commitment. It will forever be something You Feel for a person, place, or thing. But again, love is not meant to be felt, it is meant to be given, it is meant to be expressed.

In the Greek it is call agape. Agape is the expression of the total concept of love. A concept that can only be understood through knowing the Agape love of Christ; total being unlimited. Jesus Christ Agape for you and me on the cross at Calvary, saying, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13. The Son of God laid down His life that you and I might have eternal life – at not cost to us – freely given from the Well of God’s love.

Who do you agape and how do you express it? (If it has to be earned or deserved, it is not agape).