What is love? God is love. (1 John 4:8) tells us if you do not know God, you do not know love. The word for Godly love is the Greek word agape. This kind of love is a deliberate and intentional act of sacrificing your own wants and comfort for someone else. God loves mankind so deeply He sent His only begotten Son into this world to die the horrible crucifixion as a sin offering for the entire world (John 3:16; Romans 5:8). The greatest act of agape is to “sacrifice one’s life for another” (John 15:13). In a white water canoeing incident, my brother and I did exactly that for one another and we survived; God was with us.
A Love Relationship
God created man to love us and for us to love Him (Genesis 1:27; Colossians 3:10). God made man to have a love relationship with Him and for man to love and have a relationship with one another. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love him, because he first loved us.” Love is the key God’s 10 commandments tell us how to love God and how to love one another.
10 Commandments
| How to love God | How to love your Neighbor |
| 1 You shall have no other God’s before Me | 5 Honor your mother and father. |
| 2 You shall make no idols | 6 You shall not Murder. |
| 3 You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. | 7 You shall not commit Adultery |
| 4 Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy | 8 You shall not Steal |
| 9 You shall not bear False Witness against your Neighbor | |
| 10 You shall not Covet |
Two Great Commandments
Jesus gave us 2 love commandments, replacing the 10 written on stone tablets.
(Matthew 22:36-40) Jesus was asked; What is the greatest commandment?
Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Godly Love
Agape love is not based on our emotions, but an act of our will. It is intentionally sacrificing your desires for someone elses; it is an active love of truth 1 John 3:18. To love someone with God’s love is to promote that person’s best interests. Love actively works not to harm, but to bring good to that person. This love is directed not only toward other believers but to all people, even our enemies. Jesus was sacrificed by God the Father for the sins of everyone (1 John 2:2; John 1:29).
Regardless of our emotional response to another person, agape love will act for his or her good, regardless of the cost. That is the kind of love Scripture speaks of when it says to love your neighbor as yourself. That kind of love is the fulfillment of the law.
Agape is Not Unconditional or Blind
Agape or Godly love is not unconditional love, as many will think. We must keep in mind God is Holy, Righteous, and Truth just as much as He is Love.
So what is the well-being of another? The world and maybe even our own feelings might say being tolerant or supporting those who live a sinful life is for their well-being. That is not agape love or the light or knowledge we received from Jesus and the apostles. Sinful behavior will keep the practitioner of sin out of heaven. How can we believers not warn others about sin and its consequences 1 Corinthians 6:9-10? It would be unloving, if we did not warn folks of hell and the consequences of sin. Jesus talked as much about hell as He talked about love and was crucified because He spoke the whole truth of God. At the judgment even believers will suffer loss for the bad we have done (1 Corinthians 3:15).
The Nature of God is Love
Alot has been written about the character of God. After all of God’s attributes have been filtered to His most fundamental ones, God is life (Jeremiah 10:10; Revelation 22:1), God is love (1 John 4:8), God is Holy (Psalms 99:9), and He is righteous (Daniel 9:14). God’s righteousness, life and holiness are expressions of agape, His love. His holiness, His righteousness, and life are inseparable from His love.
God doesn’t choose to love or give love; it is the core of who He is. Love to God is fundamental. He is love (1 John 4:16). Love is God’s essence; it fuels His every action, directs His every act (1 John 4:10).
However, we live in a generation that will use the word love, but it’s a selfish kind of love, not agape. True Godly love is unlike the love expressed by many today, but a love of convenience and pride. They love the winner. They love those that add value to themselves, real or imaginary. This generation loves those that love them. This is conditional love. They love their own, but not yours.