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Luv ya…mean it!!
I will openly admit to you that the concept of ‘agape’ love is unknown to me. I read this verse “agape must be sincere”, and I become faced with two dilemmas. The first dilemma is that the word “love” is so abused, misquoted, and tossed around, that I wonder how I can find the true meaning of this verse. The second dilemma is the same as the first, because who really knows what it means to be sincere? So I must reflect: Love (brotherly, unconditional, over-abounding love) must be sincere (deeply felt, extremely committed, unquestionably evident) in my life. What scares me is that I know how to accept this love, but I do not know how to give this kind of love. God pours His love over me and I say thank you, but I don’t turn around and pour it out on others. I must overcome my struggle of seeing people through my judgmental perceptions, and start seeing people as hurting souls in need of help. How? How do I change? It seems the rest of verse 9 has the answer:
“Abhor what is evil, ‘kollao’ what is good”. ‘Kollao’ in Greek means cling to, be fastened to, and cemented with. So I must ask myself: Do I even know what is evil and what is good? Do I cling to and embrace goodness? Or do I justify the things that God knows are evil? The answer to my own questions then is: love sincerely. If the core of my being is a love relationship with God, then the reality of evil and goodness will be so incredibly obvious that there will be no internal dilemma. Everything I do should filter through my core relationship. I would approach my temptations with no room for justifications. My interactions with people would be filtered through my love relationship. That would be true sincerity. That would be loving people the way Christ loves us. That is where I want to be, but not where I am. How do I get there? Romans 12:11…serving the Lord. Keep my spiritual fervor, my desire, my passion, my sincerity; by serving the Lord.
Herb, I have an engineer’s mind (Go Jackets!) which causes me to forget the names of people I meet, usually as soon as the conversation is over, and sometimes in the middle of it. Herb, I have talked to you three or four times. Now I see the name and the face together again. I plan to remember it next time we talk.
I confess that I have a hard time accepting this kind of love. That probably means I have a hard time really giving it too. When you try to show that deep, sincere, selfless love do people sometimes react with suspicion? I mean even Believers – I am pointing at myself – may wonder “What’s this guy’s angle; what’s he want?” and I may keep back from you in my reserved, protective sort of way. It takes humility both to give and receive this kind of love. I think that’s why it’s so important that we find ways to demonstrate it to each other as followers of the Lord, so we can crack those old hard shells we have. John 13:35 – Jesus said it. The world isn’t going to believe we are Jesus’ followers unless we unreservedly give and receive this love.
Yeah, I think you hit on it. When there’s sin in myself I cannot love deeply and sincerely. The command Paul writes in those two verses, follows from the first two verses in the chapter. “In view of God’s mercies,” if we are in the act of being transformed by renewing our minds, then we’ll be making decisions daily to grab hold of what is good, to honor each other, to have that zeal, and to love each other.
Thank you Herb for your words of wisdom. They were exactly what I needed this morning. God has really been working on me and my judgmental perceptions. I couldn’t seem to get past my pride. I have been praying to God to help me with this but I keep stumbling. God really used your words this morning. My problem is not just the sin of pride and judging but in truly loving. I love verse 9, “Let love be without hypocrisy” and verse 14, “Bless those who persecute you, bless and curse not”. Verse 16 states, “Do not be wise in your own estimation”. I think when I judge others that is exactly what I am doing. Instead of loving them I am being wise in my own estimation. Verse 17, “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone”. When I judge someone that is exactly what I am doing. It is not what God wants. He wants me to love with sincerity. Thank you again this has helped so much.
Thank you Lord for these words of wisdom that you brought to my attention through Herb.
Herb there is only one way to love unconditionally. I think you are right if I was working at loving I would turn away from evil like revenge, jealouscy, or being judgemental. I know I could do those things but the onle way I can ever show or recieve love is through the Holy Spirit. My relationship with Christ is (not as consitantly as I would like it)guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. I can just go through my day doing for God or I can go through my day being with God. Outside those things may not look any different but inside it is God’s agape love for me leading and guding and empowering my every step. As I said earlier not as consistantly as I would like but each day more than the last. I want to make it one more step today than I did yesterday.
To Herb: good word this morning. To Bill: Go Jackets!
Loving others in this agape love is a difficult thing to do every day. I’m pretty sure the guy who nearly hit me on 285 this morning wasn’t feeling any love from me afterwards, agape or otherwise.
My prayer this morning…
God, you have made me a vessel for your Holy Spirit, a jar of clay to carry the most prescious treasure. Fill me today with your Spirit so that I may overflow and touch everyone around me with your love. Help me today to love others as you love me. Rekindle my passion, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit in me. Thank you God for freedom, thank you God for your love and surrounding me with a loving family of believers.
Thanks to everyone for your sincere words.
I seem to be in the same boat. Which makes me feel better. I have a hard time accepting unconditional love. My first reaction is “what do they want from me?”. I know that is wrong. I have scars (just like everyone) from the past. Of course, that is human love that I am speaking of. The same thing goes for Gods love when I truly think about it. I put myself down and wonder, why does God love me. What I I possible do or be to make him proud. I am working on that one daily. I am who I am because God made me that way.
The problem is though, when I don’t take in the love that is around me, and I give out what I have, I become an empty vessel and I am unable to give anymore.
Please God help me to accept the love that surrounds me so that I can continue to serve with active love and excitment.
Thanks Mr. Herb (as Anna Kathryn calls you)…thanks for helping kick-start my heart and mind this morning. I agree with Bill, I’m not certain I know how to recieve this type of love, which is really informative on if I actually know how to give this type of love. The other complicating factor is how much do I really understand unconditional love, which really limits my ability to experience it…and therefore give it away. I certainly understand it intellectually and through the Holy Spirit get glimpses of it beyond that. That said, I agree with Penny, it’s really about allowing the Holy Spirit to live in me day-by-day, minute-by-minute…that will allow me to recieve or give this type of love. Which goes back to an earlier devotional about checking myself at the door.
Lord help me, wash me with your Holy Spirit today.
Some of the questions about good/evil recalled me back to the close of a verse from last week:
“Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:1-2
This morning I was caught up on this concept of “botherly” love. In today’s culture there’s so much division in families, including my own.
I have to really think back to an ideal of what God called family and how a husband & wife is suppose to reflect the Trinity – together raising like kind (God worshipers, ready to serve & love others).
I’m not entirely sure sometimes how to implement agape with those family members who manipulate, abuse and have broken trust
I really have to be God dependent to show me how to reach out to love & serve these familiar “enemies”. I thank God that we grow as we live in obedience.
So many nuggets in this verse.
sincere, brotherly love, devoted and honoring others above yourself…. not the churchy hi how are you … good and walk away… so many of us are prone to do (including myself). The zeal part… what’s up with that? Is it that I don’t want to bother getting to know any one else… or let them in? I think God knew this is hard.
I know why I have a hard time with obeying this verse. I don’t want others to judge me.
I do agree when we are focused on the Lord and truly serving Him then our human side of judging others can be overcome and we can see others as God sees them and then love them.