The passage
above is from ”the Message” version of Paul’s treatise on love by
Eugene Peterson. It takes a few
liberties with the translation but fully communicates the message that Paul was
attempting to communicate to the Corinthian Church gathering.
Love should be what burns within our hearts
first and foremost for Christ with all that He has accomplished for us at the
cross; He is always our first love. Then
we love others as Christ loves us; notice that I speak of this in the present
tense, not in the past tense. Jesus
loves us in the here and now, even though what He accomplished was well over
2,000 years ago on a cross at Calvary.
His sacrifice
was efficacious to produce our salvation for everyone for all time, including
you and me in this day and age. The type
of love that Paul is referencing in his treatise on love is called agapē
love; this is a Greek definition of an aspect of love. This
type of love is first attributed to God’s love expressed through Jesus, good-will
or benevolent, deeply affectionate, or endearing.
“For this is how much God loved the
world—he gave his one and only unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him[b] will
never perish but experience everlasting life.”
John 3:16 (TPT)
Agape is the
type of love Paul is referring to. We don’t
naturally possess this type of love, for it is first shown through our
relationship with Jesus and His love for us, we, in turn, demonstrate that love
for others. Jesus said that “no man
has greater love than to lay down his life for his friends,” but even Paul
takes this to task and says if we lay our lives down, is not done out of agape
love, “I have gotten nowhere.” It
means nothing if we do not respond to others out of agape love as Jesus
loves us.
“For the greatest love of all is a
love that sacrifices all. And this great love is demonstrated when a person
sacrifices his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (TPT)
The Aramaic
translation of this verse tells us that the word “friends” goes much deeper
than an acquaintance; it is a reference to family or relatives. In Christ, we are more than friends; we are connected
to the family of God. Paul makes it very
clear that without agape love, “no matter what I say, what I believe,
and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.”
I love that statement. Paul puts a stake in the heart of all human
effort that is done without the agape love of Christ. Even though they
are good works, they merit nothing in the Kingdom without the love of Christ.
Love never
gives up, and always moves forward.
Sometimes tough love can seem distant from what agape love looks like, but
at heart, they are the same. Tough love still
looks for the best in others, even if the other person can’t see God’s best for
themselves, we have to see it for them and pray that God’s love will shine
through their darkness and bring illumination.
Love puts up
with anything; it does this because when we are steeped in God’s love, there is
nothing that can derail us, not pride, no doubt, no fear, not anything the enemy
throws at us can hinder our love in Christ Jesus. The prevenient love of Christ
always goes before us, and we will prevail!
“Our love for others is our grateful response to the love God first
demonstrated to us.”
1 John 4:19 (TPT)
Like I said
at the beginning of this post, that “the Message” paraphrase takes a few
liberties with the text, but I love the way it takes the commitment of love to
new heights and establishes an “other-centered” approach to love. Even though Jesus loves us completely, we fix
our focus on sharing that love with others; the reasoning is clear that as we
pour out into others, our God fills us with more. That is the truth of being in Christ; there
is always enough love.
The words “never
look back” are included here in this passage; it is a way of saying live your
life with no regrets, be intentional in all that you do. Allow the love of Christ to permeate everything in your life,
not allowing yourself to compartmentalize your faith.
Have the freedom to be you, and love will seek
you out.
Be Blessed;
Stephen
Barnett
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