Agape never fails II

What is God’s default response and expression?

Having spoken about Agape previously, does this mean we should neglect philia, eros or storge? Not at all!

There is nothing wrong with our ability to give and receive philia, eros or storge—in their purest forms, these other loves are also sourced in God—but it is not in the natural human capacity to give and receive agape. This is where God prevails over human nature—His default is agape! 1 John 4:8b says, “God is Agape,” thus, everything God does is out of agape. Agape is an all-encompassing love and within agape's many children are philia, storge and eros. Agape is the parent of all love—the universal trunk of love from which various expressions of it branch out.

Man was not born into agape, but agape is the default expression of God in all circumstances

And because Agape is the default of God, He also wants our default to be Agape. That is why 1 John 4:8a says,

Whoever does not love [Agape] does not know God, because God is love [Agape]

The litmus test of a Christian is to know God; for we cannot be called Christ-like without knowing Christ, and the best way to confirm whether we know Christ is by a clear show of Agape. That daily and in every aspect of our lives we show the agape love of Christ. That when life throws it’s not-so-pleasant situations, we respond with Agape. And if life throws lemons at us, we make lemons because of Agape. This is God’s desire for us. That agape becomes our default expression.

So next time we read 1 Corinthians 13, replace the word love in each case with agape as a reminder of the full import of what God’s expectation for our lives:

“3. . . If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have agape, I gain nothing.

4 Agape is patient, agape is kind. Agape does not envy, agape does not boast, agape is not proud.

5 Agape does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6 Agape does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7 Agape always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Agape never fails.