Agape Love

           I recall my early years in grade school when this time of year came around. My parents would go to a store and get me a package of 50 valentines in a bag and I would go through the bag and assign one valentine to each of my classmates. They were then brought to the school house where they were put into a big container and at the given time, the teacher would pass out all of the valentines to each of the class members. Some of the valentines were bigger than others and you would choose that special person to whom that one would go. It was another time of candy and getting a tad closer to a person who you thought for sure would give you cooties if you got too close. In some ways, it was a feeble attempt to get accustomed to the word “love.” For the most part, it gave a wrong definition and pointed us down a road of self gratification more than anything else. If you wanted to really know the definition of love, then you have to go to the One Who loved the most. John 32:16 says, "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.”

           Right away, God gives us a new dimension in this area of love and it is not anything near to what Hollywood or the world in general has to offer. There are two prominent words in the New Testament that speak about love. One of them is where we get the term, “brotherly love”, or phileo, such as in the case of the word, Philadelphia. The second word which is used especially in the Scriptures is “agape.” This is the word that is used in John 3:16 and in much of the New Testament. We can use First Corinthians 13 as a description of how it works and what makes it different and therefore, in some ways, gives us a definition of the word. First John 3 and 4 are also good examples of how the word is used especially in reference to God and His love towards us. Much has been said about this type of love and my Pastor in West Virginia gave a definition one day that never left my mind. He pointed out that agape love is “righteous acts to meet the needs of another.” Perhaps that sound too simple and too short to define such a complex word but when you think about it, God's love was providing a righteous act, Christ on the cross at Calvary, to meet my needs and your needs, which involved payment for a sin debt that you nor I could ever pay. Jesus on the cross was the righteous act and our sin debt was the need. That's the prime example but how do we carry it forth in our daily walk? For us to exhibit agape love to another, we are going to be doing “righteous acts” to meet the needs of those around us. It can be a helping hand or a “good deed” or a hug or a kind word or forgiveness or comfort depending on the needs of those around you. It won't be found in the bag of valentines or in today's culture the bouquet of flowers or the box of candy or the romantic dinner for two. We sometimes wonder how we are going to be able to do a righteous act for someone. It won't take long for a need to arise where you are going to be the one who is able to do that act for the person in front of you. Sure, chocolates are good and flowers look great, but it is the deed that is done to those who are in need around you that are the true expressions of agape love. When you do the deed, you expect nothing in return. It is not a reciprocal deed. You do it to fill a need that is in the person's life. It won't take long for you to realize a need that is dropped right in front of you. Don't hesitate to be that person who does a “righteous act to meet the needs of another.” Praise God for His supreme example of “agape” love by giving His Son for our eternal life.