Make Every Effort: Peter's Fervent PleasSample

Day 11: Godly, Unselfish Love

As our mutual affection grows for others, we will begin to experience real, Godly, “agape” love. This is not love that we fall into or out of. This Biblical love is not a feeling, but a choice for the highest good. We love, regardless of how we feel, for God’s sake. It is the highest good, expressing the very love God had for us when He gave up His only Son, and the love that Jesus Christ demonstrated, when He hung on that old cross bearing our sins, so that we wouldn’t have to suffer for them.

John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This is an amazing, unselfish love describing God Himself.

As 1 John 4:8 declares: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” This love cannot be faked, and unless you are “in Christ” you cannot possess it because everyone outside of Christ lives selfishly. People are not basically good as our society likes to tell us. We all have a bent or tendency toward selfishness. Psalm 14:3 says: “All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

First Corinthians 13:4-7 describes this amazing love: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” And as we learn in 1 John 4:7: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”

Love is the central quality of God around which all His other attributes flow. There is nothing better, and nothing else even compares. We can only display this love, even faintly, when Jesus Christ lives through us, and we live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

No wonder Peter continues in 2 Peter 1:8: “if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” What a happy and peaceful, and yet exciting way to live, in the love of Christ! And yet, in our life in Christ, we never arrive. There’s always more, and if we aren’t growing, we’re slipping back. So, what is next on this adventure into the blessings of God?

Reflection: What is central in your life? Is it how you feel, who appreciates you, and how much money you have? Or is it God, a longing to bring joy to His heart, and a desire to serve others more and more effectively? A true Christ-follower will never ask: “Is this all there is?” because there is always more. We serve an infinite God who is loving to the core and infinitely creative. He will never run out of new ways to bless us, excite us, and provide us new adventures to enjoy!