LOVE

God is love. God's very nature and God's very essence is love. "God so loved the

world that He gave Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son." This is the love that

God Himself bestowed upon individuals who were unworthy of His love, who were

not desirous of His love, who were sinners, but whom God loved anyway. This

kind of love cannot fail, nor can it be defeated, because it does not ask anything in

return. It does not even ask if it may love, it just loves. You cannot stop God

from loving you, nor can you keep God's children from loving you.

Three Greek words for love are used in scripture--agapao, phileo, and

storge. Agapao is God's love. In the letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes an

eloquent expression of this kind of love:

Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not;

charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her

own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth

not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth

all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,

endureth all things. Charity never faileth (I Cor 13:4-8).

Phileo is the kind of love that finds some value or some intrinsic worth in

someone or some thing, so that a strong affection for the object is expressed.

These two kinds of love are contrasted in a conversation between Jesus and

Peter:

So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of Jonas, lovest [agapao] thou me more

than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou know-

est that I love [phileo] thee. He saith unto him, Feed

my lambs. He saith to him again the second time,

Simon, son of Jonas, lovest [agapao] thou me? He

saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love

[phileo] thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He

saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas

lovest [phileo] thou me? Peter was grieved because

he said unto him the third time, Lovest [phileo] thou

me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all

things; thou knowest that I love [phileo] thee. Jesus

saith unto him, Feed my Sheep (John 21:15-17).

In the third appearance of Jesus after His resurrection, Jesus asked Peter a

question, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (agapao) thou me more than these?" and

Peter answered, "Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (phileo) thee." Jesus used

agapao in the first two questions, and Peter used phileo in his answers. Finally, in

the last question Jesus uses phileo. Jesus said unto him the third time, "Simon,

son of Jonas, lovest (phileo) thou me?" Peter is grieved but he never affirms a love

that he is not sure he has. I have to admire Peter for that. Many of us affirm a

strong love for God, but we fail to express that love. At that moment, Peter could

only say that he had a strong affection for Jesus. Later, he reached that highest

love and could say to those in trials,

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though

now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy

unspeakable and full of glory (I Peter 1:8).

I think that Peter eventually could have answered Jesus, "agapao--I love you," but

at that moment, he wasn't ready.

Another lesson that I learned from this conversation was that I should love

the giver of the gift more than I love the gift. Jesus had given Peter one of the

greatest catches of fish he had ever known--he could not get all the fish in the

boat. Then Jesus asked Peter the question, "Lovest thou me more than these?"

In other words, "Peter do you love me more than you love the great catch I have

given you?" This is an age-old question, and it is the question that underlies the

discussion between God and Satan over Job. As God was telling Satan of Job's

good qualities, Satan challenged Job's character by saying,

Does Job fear God for nought? (Job 1:9).

In other words, Satan suggested to God that Job only served Him for the

blessings God had given him, but that Job would curse Him if he was no longer

blessed. After suffering every trial and temptation that Satan could devise against

him, Job's love stood secure and he said,

The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; bless-

ed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).

Job loved God more than he loved the things God had blessed him with. Today,

Satan is still challenging God about His children with the same accusation, and

many fail the test.

After Jesus had fed the 5,000 men and their families, they followed Him,

and He began to teach them about the bread of God. Finally, He said,

Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink

his blood, ye have no life in you" (John 6:53).

Jesus did not want them to follow him for the miracles or the loaves and fishes,

but He wanted them to be one with Him. However, the people said that this was

a hard saying, and they went back and walked no more with Him. Turning to the

disciples Jesus asked, "Will ye also go away?" Peter answered,

Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou has the words of

eternal life (John 6:60-68).

As long as Jesus fed the multitude, they were content to follow Him;

however, when He asked them to eat His flesh and drink His blood, to be one with

Him, they turned away from Him. "Lovest thou me more than these?" is the

fundamental question.

Storge speaks of familial love, a love of family. Storge is used with

"philos" in Paul's letter to the Romans:

Be kindly affectioned one to another (Rom. 12:10).

Another Greek word for love not used in the scripture is eros, from which

we get the term erotic love, the kind of love that wants to possess someone, to

manipulate them, and to use them for its own pleasure.

FAITH IS ENERGIZED BY LOVE

depths of it, the quality of it, and the power of it as we have read Paul's words.

This love is powerful because it is this kind of love that energizes faith. Some-

times we wonder why our faith does not work. Paul says,

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth

anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worke-

th by love (Gal. 5:6).

If your faith is not working, you need to examine your "love life." Faith is

energized by love. Years ago I became rather distressed because I did not think

God was saving and healing as many people as I thought He should. So I began to

earnestly seek the Lord and started praying, "God, why are you not saving the

people?" "Why are you not healing the people?" "I want you to have mercy on

them." Seemingly, the Spirit brought a hush over my soul, and He whispered, "I

have already had mercy. Now, I want you to have mercy." As I meditated upon

those words, I realized that God has already done His part in the salvation and

healing of people. If I would begin to love people, and if I would begin to have

mercy on people, they would be saved. It was that simple. It is easy to place the

responsibility on God and say, "God why do You not save them?" But God an-

swers, "Why do you not love them?" I have found that if I want people to be

saved, the best way to get them saved is to start loving them. When I want

people to be healed, the best way to see them healed is to start loving them.

When I desire people to be blessed, the best way to bless them is to start loving

them. When I started loving them, things started happening: faith is energized by

love. Faith is energized by love.

Paul emphasizes this truth in his discourse on love:

...and though I have all faith, so that I could remove

mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing (I Cor. 13:2).

Faith without love may hinder the work of God. If some people had the

faith to move a mountain, I wonder whose yard they would put it in?

PRAY THE LORD OF THE HARVEST

can send someone. However, that is not exactly what Jesus said. Jesus said,

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he

would send forth labourers into his harvest (Luke 10:2).

Why did Jesus say for us to pray that He would send forth labourers? He knew

that if we prayed, we would probably be the first to volunteer to go. It is true. I

challenge any of you to start praying about the needs of any place in the world. If

you are sincere, love will arise in your heart for that place, and you will be the first

to go. You will go. Why? Because faith is energized by love. The moment you

start loving a nation, loving a people, loving a person, loving the sick, loving the

homeless, loving the lost--when you begin loving, your faith will be energized,

and God will begin to save, to heal, to work miracles through you. Love is very

powerful because it energizes faith.

LOVE AND HOLINESS OF LIFE

If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my

Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and

make our abode with him (John 14:23).

Have you ever tried to crucify yourself? You nail both feet and one hand to

the cross, but then the other hand is loose. Have you ever tried to quit a habit?

The more you think about giving it up, the more you desire it? The more you want

to overcome something, the more powerful it seems to become. However, there

is a way to holiness of life, and that way is to fall so completely in love with

Jesus, that nothing else matters. If you fall in love with Jesus Christ, completely

and totally, nothing else will matter. One day I fell in love with Jesus, and nothing

else mattered. My heart's desire was to please Him. My heart cried, "Lord I love

you."

If you are struggling to live a holy life, if you are fighting against sin, if you

are trying to commit yourself to God, fall in love with Jesus. If anyone loves and

worships Him, Jesus promises that

My Father will love him, and we will come unto him,

and make our abode with him (John 14:21-23).

GOD COMMITS HIMSELF TO LOVE

things of God, but love will give us God Himself. God does not necessarily commit

Himself to faith, but He commits himself to love. Faith will bring the gift; love will

bring the giver. Faith will bring the healing; love will bring the healer. Faith will

bring a blessing; love will bring the one who blesses. John made an interesting

observation about Jesus at the Passover in Jerusalem, when many were believing

in His name after seeing the miracles that he did. John said,

But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because

he knew all men (John 2:23-24).

Jesus did not commit himself to them even though they believed, but He

has promised to commit himself to us if we love. If you want Jesus to abide with

you, love Him. Jesus is the reward of love.

John was called the disciple whom Jesus loved. He was always very near

Christ. At the cross, as Jesus was dying, He said to John,

Behold thy mother! (John 19:26-27).

Jesus committed his mother to the care of John because He knew that John loved Him.