To love because or to love despite

Jesus asked Peter “lovest thou me?” in John 21 has been much preached over pulpits as the restoration of Peter after his 3 times denial of Jesus. From the same passage comes also the teaching of ‘agape’ and ‘phileo’, distinguishing the deeper meaning of levels of love lost in the English language.

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deu 6:4-5)

Love is a topic that can’t be ignored because love is the essence of the commandments that God gave through Moses. If the essence of God’s commandments is about love why are laws and commandments looked upon with such negativity? I have even heard of a preacher saying that the 10 commandments ought not to be considered in the church today because it deals with before Christ resurrection. However Jesus said in Matt 22:37 that to love God first and to love our neighbor, these 2 commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Therefore to love God first and to love others as we love ourselves fulfills the law and the prophets. There is a completion in obedience by just fulfilling these two. Now how do we rationalize this?

Jesus said that if we claim to love Him, keep His commandments (John 14:15, 14:21, 15:10, 1 John 5:2, 5:3, 2 John 1:6). As parents as know that we expect obedience from our children whom we love and their obedience to us is the evidence of their love toward us. Obedience is then not tedious to us because it is in love. Christ expects us to obey in love; therefore obedience and love are one.

If a man say, I love (agape) God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth (agape) not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love (agape) God whom he hath not seen? (1Jn 4:20)

Jesus said that we agape our neighbor as ourselves, John also goes on to teach us the second commandment to agape others carries the same equally importance as the first. It is easy to phileo other for it say I ‘love because’….. I am loved in return, I benefit something out if it… this kind of love is like in a ‘win-win’ situation (sounds covetous and selfish doesn’t it?). Jesus said in Matt 5:46, there is not reward if we love and expect love in return. To agape is to love my enemies, to love without expecting anything in return… it is a love that ‘loves despite’.

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. (Jas 1:27)

Why is agape love important? James 2 teaches that faith without works is dead and if we link that truth together with the goats and the sheep in Matt 25 we can conclude that at the end our reward of eternal life is founded in our love toward others; give drink to the thirsty, food for the hungry, clothing for the naked, visit the sick and go to those imprisoned. These ones that we love won’t have anything tangible to return as in the parable of the Good Samaritan (loving with a cost). Can we love others this way, even if they have cursed us, spitefully used us and persecuted us? This is the love the Son of God demonstrated by dying on the cross for the world… He loved us despite that we were enemies and without strength (Rom 5:6). Are we willing (not that we are unable) to follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Master to ’love despite’?