Living Out God's Selfless, Sacrificial Love

DEFINING Love

In the American English language the word “love” has many different meanings. Most often love is thought of as an emotion or a feeling. However, in the Bible, love (agape) is primarily defined as a selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional commitment to the well-being of others. It is not just a mere feeling, but It is an action word.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV

Understanding the Source of Love

God is the Creator and Source of all things. He is not defined by love, but He IS love. It is the very essence of His nature (see 1 John 4:16). We learn how to love others through understanding how God loves us and following His example. So, we must rely on God’s love to help us love others, instead of relying on our limited capacity.

Love is the Greatest Virtue

Paul understood the importance of love above any and all spiritual gifts. In his letter to the Church of Corinth (see 1 Corinthians 13), Paul admonishes the Corinthians to walk in love. They focused on spiritual gifts, especially speaking in tongues, but were lacking in love. Because of this, Paul used the words “sounding brass” and “clanging cymbal” to compare their worship to that of the pagans. The sounding brass illustration Paul used was the endless, nonstop, irritating, frenzied beating and clanging of brass that was performed in pagan worship and echoed constantly throughout the city of Corinth. The citizens of Corinth could never escape the endless beating of this metal, so everyone in the Corinth church clearly understood this illustration.

Paul also likened their worship to a tinkling cymbal. The correct Greek translation describes a constant, loud clashing of cymbals, much like the clashing cymbals played by the Jewish people just before they went to war. He also mentioned that love would remain even when spiritual gifts ceased.

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:35 ESV

Love In Action

At times our love for God might require us to give up our lives for Him. Jesus taught us that the love we show our brothers and sisters in Christ will at times require us to give our lives for theirs. This is the highest expression of love. It is exactly what he did for us. He sacrificed his life so that we could be reconciled back to God.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13 ESV

Love must be behind everything we do. The good works that we do should be out of love for God and for others. I have to consistently check my own heart to make sure love for God and others are my motivating factor and not self-righteousness or recognition. Self-righteousness and recognition could look like sharing the gospel out of religious obligation or out of a desire to look good in front of our pastor and church members. Neither pleases God. Yes, we would be doing a good thing by sharing the gospel, but God always looks at the heart.

Jesus said if we love him we will keep his commandments (see John 14:15) and he has commanded us to love our neighbor as ourself.