Agape Love VS Conditional Love

That's the reason why Jesus said, "You've heard that the Law of Moses says, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy' ;.But I say, love your enemies! Pray for many who persecute you! In this way, you will undoubtedly be acting as true children of one's Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to the evil and the great, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too. If you adore only those that love you, what good is that? Even corrupt tax collectors accomplish that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you distinctive from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you should be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:43 - 48) kenboa

The Law of Moses may be the Law of Death. We are no further under this Law of Death but we're beneath the grace of Christ (Romans 6:14). This Agape love can only just come whenever we accept God's grace and permit the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and our hearts. We no further think and behave like worldly people. We cannot be considering revenge for individuals who have insulted, rejected or hurt us but on the contrary, the Lord instructs us to pray for these offenders. When the Lord gives us such instruction that's contradicting to the natural behavior, He's imparting to us a "higher" nature or a "godly" nature which will produce what is recognized as the Fruit of the Spirit. Once we act upon His instruction, then this nature begins to take its roots in us.

Whenever we start doing the items of Christ, we start becoming like Him. It's true that you can DO without BEING but it is equally true that you can't BE without DOING. The doing part is important in that every single action of grace and love will soon soon add up to become part of one's character. A clever person once says, "Once you sow a thought, you reap an action. When sow an activity, you reap a habit. Once you sow a habit, you reap a character" ;.

In Galatians 5, we read in regards to the fruit of the Spirit - "But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he'll produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there's no conflict with the law (Galatians 5:22 - 23). The proper way to read this passage is: "When your daily life is controlled by the Holy Spirit, you'll produce the Fruit of the Spirit known as Agape love." That's it! The Fruit of the Spirit is Agape love. The word "fruit" is in singular tense and it's clear that this really is one singular fruit and much less some think, nine fruits.

The tangible expression of the fruit of Agape love is form into eight parts: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I have often used an orange rather than grapes; to illustrate how Agape love is usually to be viewed because the Fruit of the Spirit. Minus the slices inside, the orange is nothing but skin. Whenever we express Agape love, we cannot just supply the "skin" ;.We've to offer the whole fruit! That's the reason why in the famous "love" chapter of 1 Corinthians 13, we learn that "love is patient, love is kind. It generally does not envy, it generally does not boast, it's not proud. It is not rude, it's not self-seeking, it's not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love doesn't delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:4 -7)

Look closely with me at 1 Corinthians 13:4 - 7: When true Agape love can there be, patience can be present. Have you ever noticed couples in courtships? They're the most patient people on the face area of the earth. This display of patience may not be caused by true Agape love and in lots of instances it may even be faked. Whether it is an item of good acting or genuine patience, we understand that patience is universally accepted as one of many ingredients of true love. Someone person is kind. I've emphasized to my congregation that as Christians, we can never find any good reasons to be unkind. Unkindness and Christianity are contradictory terms.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4, it also states that Agape love does not envy and it doesn't boast. A Christian who is basking in the love and glory of the Lord will see no reason to envy other people's positions, wealth and fame etc. His focus is no longer upon what exactly of the entire world but upon His lovely Lord and Savior. Whenever a man is in love with a woman, his whole attention is upon her and therefore he won't envy every other men for having a prettier girlfriend or wife.

Agape love sees no reason to boast. Boasting happens only when one feels insecure. The boaster desires to get that promotion so that he might gain acceptance. However, when you're secure in the love of the Lord, who do you then need certainly to impress? You will certainly have nothing to prove to anybody if Christ has accepted you as who you are. This doesn't mean you will not seek to boost yourself. It means that whatever that you do, your motivation is pure. You are motivated to achieve because you intend to become anyone whom God wants you to be.

Paul says that Agape love is not proud and therefore it is not rude or easily angered. Perhaps you have met a happy person? Do you like him? What about a rude person and worse still, think about a negative tempered person? The clear answer is obvious. They're destructive behaviors and they are not merely damaging to others but also to the individual producing them.

Agape love doesn't devalue others but adds value. When a person experienced Christ's Agape love, he realizes that all his mistakes, sins and wrongs are forgiven. Christ doesn't keep accurate documentation of his past anymore. That is why Christ demands that the forgiven person, likewise, should not keep accurate documentation of most those hurts and emotional pains that others have inflicted upon him. The forgiven person ought to be quick to forgive and never keep this sort of unhealthy record.

Let's submit ourselves to the Lord and enable the fruit of the Spirit to develop within us. The Agape love must be revealed as JOY within our hearts. Joy is the potency of Agape love. When sorrow and pain come upon us just like a flood, we will still manage to sing with joy because we know that none of these could overwhelm us.

The Lord gives us PEACE as part of the fruit of the Spirit. When our situations turn less than favorable and the storm clouds gather, we will still have peace within. Like stars in the night time, His peace will punctuate holes in the tumultuous darkness.

We're PATIENT because we all know that God has given us the Agape like to overcome difficult situations. We do not fret because we all know that in His time, He could make things right.

To exhibit the actual face of God, we have to put up KINDNESS. No matter how unkind the world might become, we ought to not be tempted to follow along with its ways and become unkind.

GOODNESS should engage in our character because it is the extension of true godliness.

FAITHFULNESS is our sincere commitment to the Father and to His kingdom. To be faithful is to put God first in every things.

GENTLENESS is meekness and humility. Meekness is not weakness but gentle strength. Attempt to picture a body builder gently cradling a baby. You will see both massive strength and gentleness in the same person.

Finally the Fruit of the Spirit is shown through self-control. There are numerous types of temptations in today's world but God has given us enough spiritual fortitude to overcome all temptations. To be tempted is not just a sin but to fall into temptation is! Self-control will carry us through this pilgrim journey giving us strength and wisdom to state "no" as to the is wrong and sinful.

Submit yourself today to the grace of Christ and you will be bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Remember, "Whenever you sow a thought, you reap an action. When sow an action, you reap a habit. Once you sow a habit, you reap a character".  God bless!