(<\/span><\/em><\/strong>Jesus said<\/span><\/span><\/em>), “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master\u2019s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit\u2014fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.”<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Within the Christian community there is a lot of talk about “love.” We are commanded by Christ to While all of these should not be dismissed entirely, it is essential to understand the Biblical concept of “love.” The love that God’s people are to model and strive after is called “unconditional love.<\/span><\/strong>” This has its roots in the Greek word, agape. It is a love which is demonstrated toward each one of us from God. It is a love which keeps on loving those who may not deserve it.<\/p>\n To simplify it, we could define agape love as, goodwill toward all people, an unselfish love which loves in all circumstances, loves with no strings attached, and loves with no conditions placed upon that love. That is a tall order our Lord gives us. Yet it is non-negotiable if we are truly trying to be a growing disciple of Christ. In the pages of Scripture we see how Jesus teaches us and shows us how to love unconditionally. Remember, in Jesus we see what God is like. In the person of Jesus, God in essence is saying,<\/p>\n “Look, this is how I love all of you, my love is unconditional. Nothing you can do will ever stop me from loving you. I love you unconditionally!<\/span><\/em><\/strong>“<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And that is the challenge for everyone of us. We are not permitted by God to withhold love from anyone.<\/span> WOW, does that fly in the face of cultural philosophies! As growing and maturing Christians we must not say, “I will love you IF<\/span><\/strong> you are good to me,” or “I will love you IF<\/span><\/strong> you do what I want.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As Charles Wesley wrote,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Amazing love, how can it be!<\/a>“<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It is the amazing agape love and it is this kind of love which God calls each one of us to model in our lives.<\/p>\n The person asking the question said in a protesting tone, “But General, don’t you know the terrible things this man says about you?” <\/span><\/p>\n Lee responded by saying, “Yes, I know, but you didn’t ask how he felt about me. You asked what I think of him, and I think he is a fine and able man, and I commend him to you highly.”<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n That is unconditional love! That is the agape love we are called to imitate as growing disciples of Christ.<\/p>\n Pastor Jim<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \n + + + + + + + + + + + +<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n To see more Pastor’s Ponderings, click this button:\u00a0\u00a0 Pastors Ponderings<\/span>![\"smiley-25526__180\"](\"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/smiley-25526__180.png\")
<\/a>“love one another” (see also John 15:12<\/a> & John 13:34<\/a>). The challenge with that is we tend to interpret “love” by our definitions, our preconditioning, or even our own life experiences.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>To be Christ like is to love unconditionally. Even as He was being nailed to a cross, Jesus did not withhold love from the world (see Matthew 23:34<\/a>)!<\/p>\n\n
Shalom,<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n