Fruit of the Spirit: Love (Agape)

Photo of love written in fruit by Brooke Lark on Unsplash.

In our Western culture, we say that we love everything. We love pizza. We love our mamas. We love traveling.

Our English word for love is wimpy. We can’t express the range of emotions encompassed in our one word.

Greek is different. Their language has four words to express the feelings we go through for love.
As a fruit of the Spirit, the Greek word used is agape. That’s the unconditional love that never fails. If you have ever tried to love someone who is on your last nerve, you know that agape love does not come naturally.

First Corinthians 13:4-8 is one of the most well-known passages on love. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (NKJV). 

Almost every wedding I’ve attended has shared this passage with hopes that their marriage will attain the heights of the love described. Yet, more and more, I realize that in myself, I have no ability to love with such abandon and grace as described above. The only way I can love anyone else is when I’ve first experienced this love firsthand. Then I can pass along the love of God to others.

Love Because We’re Loved

First John 4:19 NKJV says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” Love originates from the heart of the Father towards His creation. As He pours out that love into our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit, it grows from a small seed of appreciation until it fully blooms into love. When we recognize the love that the Father has lavished up on us, we can’t help loving Him back.
One way we know how much God loves us is when we’ve realized how much we’ve been forgiven. The more we’ve been forgiven by God, the greater our love towards God and others. Luke 7:41-13 NKJV says, “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”  Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.”
The Father’s forgiveness doesn’t give us an excuse to sin all we want so that we may be forgiven more (Romans 6:1-2) and therefore receive more love from God to love Him more in return. We don’t abuse God’s grace. Instead, when we sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us to repent of our actions and return to right relationship with the Father.
Jesus tells us to not only love our friends but also to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44). Recognizing that God sent His Son Jesus to die for us when we were His foes (Romans 5:6-8), because we’ve received the love of God, we can extend His love for others that we don’t posses in ourselves. We can’t muster up the love, but when we pray, God’s love can pour through us into the darkest corners of the earth.
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The Lord searched high and low to find the one lost sheep and return it to the fold. His love breaks through all the hurts and hidden sins we harbor.

If you, like me, struggle to love even your neighbors sometimes, much less your enemies, take time to bask in the love that God has for you. Write down all the ways you’ve seen God’s love in your life. Even if it seems dimmer in the present, the breath in your lungs is a gift from above.
Let the Lord love you.

That may sound easy, but it’s not. Sometimes, the guilt of our past can cling to us like an unwashed garment and leave a stench we think no one would want to approach us. Yet, the same way the father ran to his prodigal son covered in pig poop, our Heavenly Father runs to embrace us with open arms.

On the other end of the spectrum, maybe we feel entitled to the Father’s love because of our great works, like the older brother. It’s hard to love when our hearts are hard from pride. Ask the Lord to reveal the ways you’ve fallen short (Psalm 139:23-24), so that you can repent, return, and extend His love to others.

The more we receive God’s love, the more we will love others. The Father loved the world and sent His Son Jesus to save us. May we fill our lives with the Holy Spirit and let God’s agape love shine through to all the world.

• What are some ways you’ve seen the love of God in your life? Write them down so you can remember His agape towards you.
• What things make it easier for you to recognize the love of God towards you?