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Love - agape (in Greek)

This week, I was thinking about a verse in the Bible that most people know: "Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor 13:13). If love is the greatest, why does God say that without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:16)?

But we find in 1 John 4:8 that "God is love." So we could also insert the word "God" in each place this chapter speaks of "love". And without God, there can be no faith or hope.

Verses 9 and 10 show that love is outgoing not inward seeking. Just as God is light, love shines out and " the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us", meaning God's love is to shine through us to others. Only black holes suck in light through their gravity, trying to attract everything to themselves (and this leads to destruction) but all stars shine light outwards. This is the way God created the universe.

When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36-40) He quoted Deut 6:5 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." and just as important, Lev 19:18 "you shall love your neighbour as yourself." These are 2 sides of the same coin. Your love for God is to be expressed in your love for others as God loved us first (1 John 4:19).

God's love (and therefore the love we are to have) is a love for other people's welfare more than our own without expecting anything in return. The ultimate expression of this type of love (God's love in us) is to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43–44).

God's love is service (Matthew 20:28). It is seeking out and recognising the needs of others before thinking of ourselves. The sick and the needy could do nothing for Jesus, but they were the ones He sought to help. As in Romans 5:8, we see His example of love - dying for us so that we might have a true loving relationship with the Father.


What is this relationship? By loving others as God loves us, we show love for God. It is a cycle like water: The sea evaporates, forms clouds, they rain on the ground, form rivers that flow back into the sea while at the same time, giving life to plants on land. God loves us, He blessed us by providing for us in a way that we can take what we need and have more to provide for others (2 Corinthians 9:8-15) and they will give thanks to God for their help and God's love and the cycle continues. 

Seeking love and understanding is not God's way of loving. Giving love, understanding and care is God's love in action. It is not words of empathy, sympathising with a situation or accepting it but it is looking for how you can help others every day. God cares for everything in His creation, from the flowers to the birds and also for us. As images of God, we are to do the same to other people and care for them as they are images of God too. As such we love God before all else by loving other people. This is why old Bible versions translate the love of 1 Cor 13 as "charity" - it is outgoing, giving, service and not self-seeking (1 Cor 13:4-7).

So going back to Hebrews 11:6, "Without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." God exists. He is love. We seek His love and reflect back His love (as His images) out from us onto others. And again, all is the same cycle. Faith is trust and allegiance to our King and our King is Love.

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