Agape

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word that you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says, “I am in the light,” while hating a brother or sister, is still in the darkness.Whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.

I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever. ~ I John 2:7-17
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord
And we pray that all unity may one day be restored
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love

We will work with each other, we will work side by side
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we'll guard each one's dignity and save each one's pride
And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love ~ Fr. Peter Scholtes


It's really quite simple.  The song makes it pretty clear: "they will know we are Christians by our love." Loving isn't something we do to become right with God.  Loving is something we do because it is part of who we are in God. It is what we are in essence put on this earth for.

Can't you tell it or feel it when you are "walking in darkness" because you are "hating" someone and not living in the love you were designed for? When you aren't guarding the dignity and pride of that person? I can. There's a reason being angry feels so rotten.  It isn't the state we are meant for.

I wish the English language had as many words for love as the Greek.  Agape, the full, selfless love that Christ calls us to, isn't the same as the "eros" love we celebrate in our romantic relationships.  It's more also that the "philo" love of friendship or the "storge" or loving affection that parent's feel for a child.

It's the love that is complete. It's the love of neighbor.  Of the other. Of those in need. Of the lonely.  Of the alien. Of our enemy.

Oh, yeah.  And it's hard. Hard because even though we are designed for it, we've got a lot of things that get in the way of it.  Including the ways in which anger, mistrust, fear, and our own pride or self-sufficiency slip in and mess things up.

But the good news is that God abides in us and loves us first. Forgives us first. Frees us first to love as completely as God can.

It's who we are meant to be.  Free in perfect love.


Loving God, help us strip away the things that keep us from the perfect love you call us to so that we can walk in confidence of that love, extending it to all. Amen.
Thoughts for engagement:

- What makes "agape" love so hard?
- In his letter, when John says not to love the world, he isn't talking about our home the earth. He is talking about the things in this world that conflict with love of God. Similarly, desires of the flesh doesn't just mean something sexual. It refers to anything that pulls us away from God or puts our own interests before God's. So, what are the things in your life that you sometimes put before God? How does that hurt your ability to love fully?
- Listen to, sing, or play "And They'll Know we are Christians" several times. Absorb the words. What would our lives look like if we fully lived into this song?

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