“But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” ~Gal. 5:22
Brothers,
In the New
Testament, there are two words used for love: agape and phileo. Agape love is a charitable love. It is the word used for love in this passage
and so I’ll do my best to explain a little bit about it. Most people today use
the word love in a completely different way than it is used in Scripture. Take,
for example, 1 Cor. 13. Now, would you say that that chapter’s definition of
love is the same as the definition you would find in a modern day dictionary?
No. Unlike modern “love”, Biblical love is pure, selfless, and courageous. In
John 3:16 we have perhaps the greatest example in Scripture of agape love: that
God so loved the world, that He sent
His Son to die in ridicule and shame on a tree He had created. The world did
not want Him; it did not desire Him. And yet, God so loved us that He chose to
ignore our shouts of defiance and show us mercy by giving us what we needed,
not what we asked for. For every heart that has not been raised to new life
utterly rejects our Savior. Now I know that is a quick run through of such an
important fruit, but I want to give you a few case scenarios. (For some reason,
I love using case scenarios :).
When I was a boy,
I wasn’t always very kind when I didn’t get my way. Sometimes I would just be
rebuked; other times I would be spanked. Now to me, wooden spoons meant two
different things. When one was held by the handle, it meant it was a stirring
utensil. When it was held from the other side, it was an instrument of pain.
Obviously, I never liked getting spanked, yet my parents, because they loved
me, knew that it was better for me to have to endure pain than for me to get my
way. Love in this case is kind.
A while back, I
watched a short movie about a family who was trying to escape from their home
during WWII because Germans were quickly approaching. As they fled, they
reached a flowing river. Though it was only about 20 feet wide, it was fairly
swift and was about 4 feet deep in the middle. But that was not all. It was the
middle of winter and the water was icy cold. In the family there were two small
children who, if they tried to cross on their own, would either be swept away
or would drown. The father, stopping only to take off his jacket, picked up the
first child and waded across, at times with water up to his chest. Once across,
he waded back, picked up the next child and crossed again. Then he went across
one final time, picked up his wife and carried her across. At the end, he had
crossed the icy river 6 times without a jacket and when he got out, with wet
clothes he began leading his family through the snow to freedom. That father’s
love was not only courageous, but it was selfless.
There will be
many times in your life where your path will be blocked by a river. It might be a river that your friends and
family face with you. When you reach
that river, you will be faced with a question: will you sacrifice yourself so
that they may cross over dry? Will you give your time and energy to serve
others, knowing that the more you help, the less they have to do? When you are
confronted by others, will you protect your friend’s reputation, even if you
are ridiculed and scorned? Ultimately, will you show the same kind of love your
Savior showed for you?
Your brother in Christ,
Corey
