The higher life of love (1)

Sunday, 13 December 2020 05:23

The higher life of love (1) - Taiwo Akinola

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A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another ~ John 13:34.

Introduction:

We are gradually approaching that time of year when the whole world, knowingly or unknowingly, prepares to celebrate with us the birth of Jesus Christ, our Saviour. However, believers must spend the season to reflect more on the love, hope and joy that the Saviour brought into the world.

Yes, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, this has been a year like no other. However, that only makes it even more needful than ever to acknowledge God’s unfailing love for us, and to be alert and prepared for issues of eternal value.

Indeed, if there is anything that our world needs very badly today, it is the manifestation of the genuine love of God, seasoned with the power of the gospel of Christ. This is the whole duty of man.

The Pharisees once asked Jesus what He considered to be the greatest commandment, and He summed it up like this: “‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt 22:37-40).

Love is the hallmark of authentic Christianity, the benchmark of genuine conversion and the fountain from which all real Christian virtues flow. Love is a quintessential virtue for all Christian pilgrims, so much so that even our faith works by it (Galatians 5:6). Hence, the primary impact of the Holy Spirit in a Christian life is the impartation of divine love (Romans 5:5).

There are so many ways to describe love. It is a feeling of warm personal attachment, or a profound, tender, passionate affection for another person. Love is a strong predilection, enthusiasm or liking for anything.

Love defines a warm concern for the well being of others. It is an affectionate feeling, which motivates one to dig deep enough just to bring someone else out of the grave of sorrow, lack or despair. And, most importantly, God is love (1 John 4:8).

Three Kinds of Love

All human beings have the capacity to exhibit love, and it can be manifested in any of the following grades.

Firstly, there is the ‘eros’ kind of love. This is a conjugal or romantic love between a man and a woman. However, the ‘eros’ kind of love must be firmly controlled, strictly regulated and directed aright with great discipline. Eros finds its godly and best expressions only in holy matrimony between a husband and a wife, who are instructed not to defraud each other in this conjugal duty (1 Corinthians 7:5).

Secondly, there is the ‘phileo’ love. This is love expressed in philanthropic gestures to those in need as well as acts captured in some forms of patriotic behaviors. Phileo love equally defines the love one has for his/her family members or clan. A good example of this is expressed by the men who stood with David in 1 Chronicles 11:15-19.

Then, thirdly, there is the ‘agapao’ kind of love. This is the ultimate “love in spite of” the object being loved. It is God’s kind of love, absolutely unqualified and unfeigned love, which knows no barrier, no inhibitions or hindrances of family, race or social status, and needs no qualification of the object being loved.

God’s kind of love is stronger than death (Song 8:6). Many waters cannot quench it, and indeed, it covers a multitude of sins (Proverbs 10:12). In its characteristic quality, ‘agapao love’ gives and gives sacrificially to the joy of others. This is the kind of unmerited love that Jesus Christ represented and bestowed unto us at the first Christmas (Romans 5:8; 1 John 3:1).

Who Must We Love?

The love of God should provoke us to love others on the paths of our Christian pilgrimage. But, who should we love? The answer to this simple question looks quite predictable, but in reality it is not. The varying philosophies of men and their differing shades of religious practices do complicate matters if we fail to wholly turn to the Word of God for right answers.

The practice of loving our friends and hating our enemies is so peculiarly rife among human beings. However, it is still wise to return to the Bible, being the epic story of God’s unfolding plan over the course of history, to find out how it will guide us in our responsibility to trade on earth with ‘agapao’ kind of love.

Understandably, man is commanded to love God (Matt.22:34-38; Deuteronomy 6:5). And, by the same stretch, it goes without argument that we are also instructed to love our neighbours (Matthew 22:39; Hebrews 13:1). However, our convenient boats of human ideas and philosophies get seriously rocked when we are told that we are also expected to love strangers as well as our enemies (Leviticus 19:34; Matthew 5:44-46; Romans 12:19-21).

Love strangers? And, our enemies? I am quite sure this won’t sit well with many modern day Christians, particularly those who have been unduly exposed to what I call the “enemy brand” of Christianity, whereby every encounter is reduced to the “works of the enemies”.

We must admit here that the Bible doesn’t always side with human philosophies, no matter how laudable. For example, it says: “if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them” (Luke 6:32). Furthermore, it says, “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink” (Romans 12:20). And, that puts “paid” on any opinion to the contrary.

Meanwhile, nobody needs to live by the love of God if he’s ready for the ominous consequences. In 1 John 3:14, we are told: “He that loveth not his brother abideth in death”. That’s too deep a water to play in!

In conclusion, men and brethren, now and always, let’s endeavor to provoke one another to love and to good works (Hebrews 10:24). In particular, in this season when everyone is celebrating God’s love for our sinning world, let’s all be courteous enough to love as brethren and show compassion one to another (1 Peter 3:8). Merry Christmas in advance. Happy Sunday!