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“The Command and Decision to Love”

Thoughts for Today:

The English word "love" expresses a wide range of emotions, but it doesn't adequately express God's kind of love which Paul intended to convey. God doesn't simply love people in word, but by His acts and in truth. (1 John 3:17-18: "If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.")

The type of love Paul describes in our passage today (the same as Jesus displayed on the Cross), is the Greek word AGAPE. It is the highest form of love. AGAPE is seeking the welfare or betterment of others even if there is no emotional attachment or benefit to our self. It's a choice, a decision, and an exercise of the will. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed (Matthew 26:39): "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." He offered Himself sacrificially -- for the redemption of mankind -- regardless of His feelings to the contrary.

God's kind of love, AGAPE, is the only type of love that can be commanded. Why? Because although it can involve our emotions, it is not an emotion. Vine's Expository Dictionary explains that expressing AGAPE love is "the exercise of the Divine will of God in deliberate choice."

We find in Scripture there are many commands for us to love. To list just a few -- Matthew 5:44: "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Matthew 19:19b: "love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:13b: "serve one another humbly in love." Colossians 3:14: "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." All of these illustrate and command God's kind of love (AGAPE), and is what Paul will continue to discuss throughout Chapter Thirteen.

Questions to Ponder:

All too often we think of love as an emotion -- a magical feeling that just comes over us. But that's not how the Bible describes AGAPE love. Even in Ephesians 5:25, when men are commanded to "love your wives as Christ loved the church," the word used is AGAPE. Therefore, it is not emotional love that is commanded, but a much higher form -- AGAPE -- God's kind of love. God can't fall in and out of love with us, so why do we think we can stop loving our spouses or anyone else? God is perfect and we aren't, so when God commands us to love we should follow his lead. Will you obey God's command to love? How will you do so today?

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About the author

Pocket Devotions are written by Mike Brooks. A retired businessman, he is Moderator of South Shores church, leads the Deacon Board, serves on the finance committee, and he teaches a Men's Bible study and the Men's Ministry. Mike has a passion for evangelical missions. He is the husband of Sherry; the father of Ryan, Natalie, Krissy, Rebecca, and Amanda; the father-in-law of Ariel; and the grandfather of Conner and Christian.