LOVE IN YOUR HOME
Part 1

“Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”
(1 Peter 1:22 NKJV).

It’s easy to love when someone loves you, isn’t it? Reciprocal love is sweet and special. But how do you love when someone does not like you? How about when they throw abuse in your face? Hate you? Disrespect you? Misuse you? What do you do then? Maybe you can cope with it when it is someone outside the home. It’s not so personal but how do you survive when they are members of your own family?

I am sure you are familiar with the different Greek words for love. One is eros which is sexual love. It gives pleasure to the senses. It is a God-given love, but this love is not enough to hold a marriage together. It takes other kinds of love.

The word phileo is tender, affectionate love. It is friendship love. It is a maternal love. It is the love we feel with our emotions. Titus 2:4 speaks of phileo love when it exhorts the young women to “love their husbands . . . to love their children.” Couples can live very happily together when both show phileo love to one another. But when phileo love turns off in either the husband or wife, what happens then? This is when we need agape love.

In 1 Peter 1:22 Peter encourages the saints in their “love of the brethren,” translated from philadelphia, meaning brotherly/friendship love. But he urges them to move on to agape love as he writes: “see that ye love (agape) one another with a pure heart fervently.”

Peter writes again in 2 Peter 1:7: “Add to godliness brotherly kindness (philadelphia); and to brother kindness love (agape).”

In 1 Thessalonians 4:9 Paul also urges the saints on to greater love. “But as touching brotherly love (philadelphia), we need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love (agape) one another.”

Agape love is God’s love. It reveals the character of God. It goes beyond natural feelings. It keeps loving even when abused and hated. It keeps loving even when the person is ugly and horrible.

Agape loves because it wills to love whereas phileo loves according to how we feel.

Agape loves indiscriminately, whereas phileo discriminates.

Agape loves unconditionally whereas phileo is conditional.

Agape loves in spite of whereas phileo loves because of.

Agape love never fails whereas phileo love can fail.

Agape love is not naturally in you or me. It is only in Christ. 1 Timothy 1:14 and 2 Timothy 1:13 speak of “the love which is in Christ Jesus.” The amazing revelation is that Jesus Christ lives in me. Because He lives in me by His Holy Spirit, agape love is in me. Romans 5:5 says: “The love (agape) of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

In Christ, I can love with agape love. This is miraculous. This is supernatural. As we believe it, affirm it, confess it, and walk in it by faith, we can love the unlovely, love when abused, love when rejected, and love when despitefully used. This is the glorious power of Christ’s redemption. He not only redeems us from our sin but comes to indwell us by His Holy Spirit with all His love, joy, peace, and longsuffering.

Agape is described by many different words in the New Testament. Each one of these words are a challenge to me. I am sure they will be to you too. You may also like go through these adjectives with your children, teaching them the way God wants us to love each another. You could take one adjective a day, or a week, and seek to develop this aspect of love in your family life. And please don’t forget to look up the Scripture or Scriptures.

1. ABIDING Love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

This kind of love remains through thick and thin.

2. ABOUNDING Love (2 Corinthians 8:7; Philippians 1:9; and 1 Thessalonians 3:12; 4:9-10; and 2 Thessalonians 1:3.

This is God’s way. Never average. Never normal. Always ABOUNDING. The Greek word for “abound” is perisseuo and occurs frequently in the New Testament. God wants us to abound in so many qualities, including love. We’ve discovered it before in this devotional, but let’s check it again. It means “to superabound, to excel, to be abundant, enough and to spare, exceed, increase, over and above.” This reminds me of something I read years ago: “If a little bit of love isn’t effective, increase the dose.” A little bit of love is not enough for some situations. To be effective, you need to pile it on.

The Way’s translation of 2 Corinthians 8:7 says: “Full you are to overflowing . . . of the love that leaps from your hearts to mine.” What an exciting description of love. I think of a frog jumping from one rock to another. Can you get the picture of love leaping from one heart to another in your family? Love is not stagnant love. Leaping love is vibrant, pulsating, and overflowing. It doesn’t stay in the heart, but leaps from one member to another within the home.

Imagine if every member in the family tried to love this way, even for one day! What miracles could happen! What about a week? What about a month? Are you going to try this in your home? Could you encourage each member to do at least one ABOUNDING act of love each day? That means something that is out of the ordinary. What an exciting way to live.

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, please teach me what it truly means to love with Your love. My love is so shallow and I long to experience the deepness and fullness of Your love. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I’m releasing the graces of  forbearing and forgiving love in my home today.

 

Did you know, I am now doing a podcast for you each week called FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell? I know you will be blessed and encouraged. Go to www.aboverubies.org and you’ll see the icon. Or go to http://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com