As we look at love through the pages of the New Testament we find that in all except three occasions the word is translated from two Greek words, “Agape” and “Agapao” which convey to us the message of love, affection, benevolence, and loving in a social or moral sense. From these are revealed to us the love God has for us, and the love He imparts for us to reciprocate back to Him, and to share with others! “We love Him because He first loved us” 1 John 4:19. As with all love relationships someone has to initiate it and someone has to respond to it. God initiated this relationship by demonstrating “His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It is now up to us to receive His love embracing Him and reciprocating it back to Him with open arms! Having entered into this love relationship we become “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” Ephesians 2:19. Now we are admonished to “love one another fervently with a pure heart” 1 Peter 1:22. Earlier in the verse Peter says this is “sincere love”, this means it is without pretense or putting on a hypocritical act! As in large families there may be some different methods of doing things, there may be different ways of expressing things, sometimes we may not appreciate all the differences but because we are family we still love and fellowship as one; we “love as brothers” having “one mind”; we all have the same Father, we are all part of the same family, and we all have the same goal to build His kingdom, 1 Peter 3:8 and to “edify one another” 1 Thessalonians 5:11.
God has given us love
By Rose Hill
God has given us love,
Straight from heaven above.
His Son came to die,
To fit us for the sky.
God has given us love,
For love is of God.
Love to others we give,
Take love and you will live.
God has given us love,
We keep passing it on.
Others are blessed,
And our sorrow is gone.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version copyright …1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.