As important as faith and hope are in the believer’s life, they are dwarfed in comparison the greatest attribute given to us, which is love. The goal of every situation in our lives is to develop this God-kind of love, or agape. When the Spirit of God is overflowing within our lives, the love of God is what is shed abroad.
Unlike worldly love which is conditional, selfish, and temporal, God’s love is unconditional, unselfish, and eternal. This love that comes from God gives, just like God’s love gave His Son Jesus Christ for the redemption of mankind. Of course our love for the Lord is a responsive love. “We love Him because He first loved us.” It’s the fruit of the revelation that our sins have been forgiven. This love in turn enables us to forgive each other. The only reason Christians need to forgive each other is because Jesus commands us to.
True love doesn’t dig up past sins or offenses, but rather it covers them. True love is what binds saints together. If ever we are unclear about God’s definition of love, all we need to do is turn to 1 Corinthians 13. There it is in black and white. How do you measure up? As you check out this list, you discover the reason why our Father brings us through certain situations, or why He brings particular people into our lives – simply to develop these qualities within us.
You see, in 1 Corinthians 13 we have a perfect picture of Jesus. And God is reproducing this Biblical chapter in you and me! If you are wondering what God is up to these days in your life, you can be certain of this one thing, namely, that He is conforming you to the image of Jesus.
This agape love of God is a verb, and it describes the basis of how we act, talk, serve, give, etc. It’s this love that is to be our life’s driving force. This love is radical! It’s the finest way to evangelize the lost, and this love feeds other sheep.
The measure of greatness is not in how much you know, how much money you have, how well dressed or politically correct you are, but simply by this – how much do you love Jesus?
May our love for the Lord mature until He comes to take us home.
