Agape: A New Kind of Love

Christ brought a new kind of love to the world. This love was new, never known nor seen ever before by man. This love was not romantic nor desire nor friendship, nor parental nor affection. The love that Christ showed the world was that love that made and powers creation. This love is not natural human love but supernatural and divine. This love went beyond human reason because reason could not realise this new love. Man’s love is temporary and transient. Man breaks his promises, bonds and his feelings of love are fickle, here today, gone tomorrow.  Gods love is permanent and real. God’s love is not a subjective feeling but an objective fact. God’s love is purposeful and motion. God’s love is not passive but infinitely proactive. God’s love powers the universe and everything in it. Christ showed us God’s love by his life and death. We call this love Agape.  It is the greatest of all loves because it is God’s love. We choose this love by the will. We choose this love by submitting our will to God’s will. For when we choose God’s will we allow God’s love to flow through us. Agape is the explanation for creation for it is the reason for creation. This love is the essence of loving God and loving our neighbour. It is to love God without limit and loving our fellow man without exception. Agape is the love of God above all else and the love of neighbour for the love of God. Agape love is a choice not a feeling. We can choose Agape love even when we don’t have loving feelings. When we obey the commandments we choice the greatest love which is Agape. This love is self-less, self-forgetting, self-sacrifice and other centered. It is the love that reaches out not only to our loving neighbour but to our unloving ones also. It is love of our enemies, those that hate, despise and want to do us harm. This is radical love because even when we are justified to hate, we are now required to love. Agape love does not discriminate against any fellow human because God created all and loves all. Jesus said:” You have heard that it was said, 'Love (agapao) your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love (agapao) your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?” (MT 5:43-45) This love is unconditional, non-discriminatory, voluntarily chosen, active, volitional and self-sacrificing. It is the reflection of God’s self-sacrificing love for mankind. It is love of others even unto death. This love does not depend on any loveable or unlovable qualities that our neighbor may possess.