Agape (A.ga.pe.): Selfless, Sacrificial, Unconditional love;
Describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for His father and His followers (Zavada, 2014).
Describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for His father and His followers (Zavada, 2014).
Part I
by Christabel Tan
There are many different kinds of love I have come to know. Possessive love, conditional love, puppy love, and the much sought after: "true love". The flesh yearns for all these imperfect incarnations of love the world has to offer, because we were made to love and to be loved. I oftentimes struggle to get a firm grasp of the true definition of love, because my God's love, his agape love for me, is unfathomable and easily rebukes all other forms of love that falls short of His.
Speaking of God's love always calls to mind the picture of the cross. That God could bear so much pain right to the end, for me - because of me - it is the greatest expression of love anyone could ever receive. There is absolutely no one who would bear the stroke of the canes, the pierce of the thorns, the weight of the cross, the humiliation of the soldiers, the searing pain of the nails being hammered into His hands, all for love. No one except God himself.
Why would anyone love someone as imperfect as me? I cannot even begin to comprehend.
Even then, beyond this amazing act of love, God's love transcends to a much more personal level for me. To me, His love is like a gentle breeze. When caught up with all the things of the world, you hardly notice it. However, when putting a pause on life, you enjoy the beauty of it. When facing a dry spell, it is exactly what you need. His love brings a warmth that envelopes you, a soft but strong reminder to the parts of your heart that has gone cold that He is still Lord over your life. Do not underestimate the power of His love; it slowly but surely melts the coldest of hearts, heals the deepest of wounds and strengthens the weakest of souls.
Even as I type this, I feel God's love washing over me. I feel immense joy being in His presence, and upset by the times I have sinned. I want to worship Him with every fibre of my body, even though I know I am undeserving of His love. I am grateful, so grateful, for everything He has given to me, whether the good or the bad. As His love washes over me I know my sins are cleansed, I know my wounds are healed.
This is the God who will never betray your love or trust, this is the God who will never fail you. This is the God who will pursue you even in the darkest of times, this is the God who sees past your flaws and still loves you whole-heartedly. This is our God, and my God reigns, His love will never fail me. And He will definitely not fail you.
Speaking of God's love always calls to mind the picture of the cross. That God could bear so much pain right to the end, for me - because of me - it is the greatest expression of love anyone could ever receive. There is absolutely no one who would bear the stroke of the canes, the pierce of the thorns, the weight of the cross, the humiliation of the soldiers, the searing pain of the nails being hammered into His hands, all for love. No one except God himself.
Why would anyone love someone as imperfect as me? I cannot even begin to comprehend.
Even then, beyond this amazing act of love, God's love transcends to a much more personal level for me. To me, His love is like a gentle breeze. When caught up with all the things of the world, you hardly notice it. However, when putting a pause on life, you enjoy the beauty of it. When facing a dry spell, it is exactly what you need. His love brings a warmth that envelopes you, a soft but strong reminder to the parts of your heart that has gone cold that He is still Lord over your life. Do not underestimate the power of His love; it slowly but surely melts the coldest of hearts, heals the deepest of wounds and strengthens the weakest of souls.
Even as I type this, I feel God's love washing over me. I feel immense joy being in His presence, and upset by the times I have sinned. I want to worship Him with every fibre of my body, even though I know I am undeserving of His love. I am grateful, so grateful, for everything He has given to me, whether the good or the bad. As His love washes over me I know my sins are cleansed, I know my wounds are healed.
This is the God who will never betray your love or trust, this is the God who will never fail you. This is the God who will pursue you even in the darkest of times, this is the God who sees past your flaws and still loves you whole-heartedly. This is our God, and my God reigns, His love will never fail me. And He will definitely not fail you.
Part II
by Teo Zhi Rui
I don’t know about you, but when I read an article written by someone about Christianity and God, I immediately assume that the writer has a good and faithful spiritual life. But even now as I am typing out this article, I am not in the best of times. My spiritual walk is dry, I have been falling to sin repeatedly and I feel lost. I feel like I do not deserve the honour to praise God and His endless love for us, His love that never fails and His love that never forgets.
Have you fallen in love before? It comes in an instant. It hits you in the face like a baseball. It’ll daze you and cause you to make the dumbest and stupidest decisions of your life just to get the attention you crave. That is my definition of falling in love. But as I journey this fun but confusing relationship with God, bits and pieces of His definition of love are slowly revealed to me. God’s love isn’t like a baseball; it doesn't come at you from somewhere far while travelling at a high speed only to hit you in the face and leave you lying on the ground. God’s love does not visit you for a short while and leave after.
His love for us is like..... a fire. A fire that will never stop burning. This fire is there constantly; keeping our hearts warm and fuzzy like a fireplace would during winter. It protects us from the evils of the world and keeps us going on the right track. Sometimes our hearts begin to grow cold and hard. In times like these, we need that extra love. That fire will then flare up to defrost our cold heart. And then we are back to normal, living life to the fullest, worshipping God, loving Him and walking that road. So you see, God’s love is always there for us.
Is it not enough? Does it not satisfy? I find myself saying ‘yes’ to these questions sometimes. Perhaps, I have not experienced or understood the full power and satisfaction His love can provide. But there is one more thing about the love of God that I know: even though the fire is always there, we can choose to standup and walk away. He will never ask us to leave, nor will He force us to stay. The decision is ours.
If you have ever done the foolish act of pouring oil into a barbecue fire (like I did), you would have seen the fire intensify and ignite everything on the grill.
If we decide to invest time and energy to our relationship with God, our love for God would begin to intensify and eventually influence everything around us. People around us would feel the heat of God’s love from us. So just like pouring oil into the barbecue fire, if we decide to invest into our relationship with God, everything would eventually fall into place for us.
To my brothers and sisters out there feeling like I do right now, drained and on the verge of giving up in any situation, take heart. There is one thing that you can live for. That is the love of God, which is a love like fire. He is more than enough for me, He is more than enough for you. He will never burn out.
Have you fallen in love before? It comes in an instant. It hits you in the face like a baseball. It’ll daze you and cause you to make the dumbest and stupidest decisions of your life just to get the attention you crave. That is my definition of falling in love. But as I journey this fun but confusing relationship with God, bits and pieces of His definition of love are slowly revealed to me. God’s love isn’t like a baseball; it doesn't come at you from somewhere far while travelling at a high speed only to hit you in the face and leave you lying on the ground. God’s love does not visit you for a short while and leave after.
His love for us is like..... a fire. A fire that will never stop burning. This fire is there constantly; keeping our hearts warm and fuzzy like a fireplace would during winter. It protects us from the evils of the world and keeps us going on the right track. Sometimes our hearts begin to grow cold and hard. In times like these, we need that extra love. That fire will then flare up to defrost our cold heart. And then we are back to normal, living life to the fullest, worshipping God, loving Him and walking that road. So you see, God’s love is always there for us.
Is it not enough? Does it not satisfy? I find myself saying ‘yes’ to these questions sometimes. Perhaps, I have not experienced or understood the full power and satisfaction His love can provide. But there is one more thing about the love of God that I know: even though the fire is always there, we can choose to standup and walk away. He will never ask us to leave, nor will He force us to stay. The decision is ours.
If you have ever done the foolish act of pouring oil into a barbecue fire (like I did), you would have seen the fire intensify and ignite everything on the grill.
If we decide to invest time and energy to our relationship with God, our love for God would begin to intensify and eventually influence everything around us. People around us would feel the heat of God’s love from us. So just like pouring oil into the barbecue fire, if we decide to invest into our relationship with God, everything would eventually fall into place for us.
To my brothers and sisters out there feeling like I do right now, drained and on the verge of giving up in any situation, take heart. There is one thing that you can live for. That is the love of God, which is a love like fire. He is more than enough for me, He is more than enough for you. He will never burn out.