We are studying “agape,” the crown and climax of all virtues, in its vital connection with the other virtues. “Agape” love is divine love – unconditional, unrestrained, and unending, a deliberate desire for the highest good of the one loved, that shows itself in sacrificial action for that one's welfare.
This is the love with which Christ commands us to love one another and all men. We cannot do this on our own. This love is supernatural. We must submit to the Holy Spirit so that He can produce His choice “fruit” in our lives and “shed abroad the love of God” in our hearts (Rom. 5:5). As we do this, we will come to realize that all the other virtues are wrapped up in love.
Love is the greatest virtue in the Christian life (1 Cor. 13:13). True “agape” love comprehends all the other virtues. We don't have to balance love with something else. We just need to have God's love “perfected” in us. Love is the “end” [aim] of God's law (1 Tim. 1:15). Love is the “fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13:10). We can afford to love others – even the most unlovable – because God has unconditionally and freely loved us.
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Bob Vradenburgh is the senior pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has spent 40 years in full-time Christian service: the first 20 years as a missionary and the past 20 years in the pastorate. Bob’s passion is the expository preaching of God’s Word,...