Agape

I've recently completed a Bible study on the Fruits of the Spirit. We went through each characteristic, and spent an entire study on each word. Then we tried to piece together what characteristics "build" on others, and how this is related to that. It was seen rather early on that Love is indeed the fundamental characteristic of the Christian faith. Passages such as 1 Corinthians 13 and Matthew 22.37-40 confirm this. All the fruits of the Spirit are linked to love, and without love they crumble. So what is this love?

The specific Greek word is "ἀγάπη" (or "agapē" for those of you who don't read Greek). The beauty of the Greek language is that there are four words with different aspects of the meaning of the word love. In the New Testament, two, agape and philos/phileo, are predominantly used. Agape means "sacrificial love" (as determined by the said Bible study), and phileo emphasizes emotional fondness. Essentially, agape is the giving of yourself even if it means harm to yourself. You will put yourself in "dangerous situations" for the other person, regardless of what it costs you, or whether they'll thank you for it. Agape-love is a choice.

Consider Philippians 2.5-11 (as translated by J B Phillips) - "Let Christ Himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. For He, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to His prerogatives as God's equal, but stripped Himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man. And, having become man, He humbled Himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death He died was the death of a common criminal. That is why God has now lifted Him so high, and has given Him the name beyond all names, so that at the name of Jesus "every knee shall bow", whether in Heaven or earth or under the earth. And that is why, in the end, "every tongue shall confess" that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

This is agape-love "at its best." God became man, so humbling considering our state, and lowered Himself to the humblest of mankind, dying the death of a common thief. And why? For a stubborn race. But God so loved us...me, you, all...that He considered it worthwhile for His Son to die, pay our penalty, so that we could live eternally with Him. "What wondrous love is this, oh my soul!"

As you celebrate Christmas, please do consider that God humbled Himself for YOU! (Not only that, but He also humbled Himself for all your siblings, cousins, parents, friends, etc. If God humbled Himself for them, how should you, a mortal man, treat them?)