Agape love is the highest form of love. This is a selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love that gives without expecting anything in return. God’s love for us is agape love, as He sacrificed His son’s life for us to be able to find our way back to him. Let’s take a look.
The Definition of Agape Love
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) defines agape love as:
“The expression of love turned outward toward concern for others.”
An article from SaintlyLiving describes agape as:
“Agape love is selfless, unconditional love. It is the love that gives of itself freely and without expecting anything in return. Agape love is not possessive or jealous; it does not seek to control or manipulate others.”
“However, if you want to love others selflessly, you need God’s agape love in your life, Jesus Christ talked about in the New Testament, which will enable you to sacrificially love others without any selfish motives.”
Agape Love in Action
Some examples of agape love that differentiate it from human love:
- Jesus dying on the cross – Jesus embodies the essence of agape love. God gave us the gift of Jesus and His overwhelming love. Jesus died on the cross so our sins would be forgiven. This is the gift given to every person – God’s incredible and unending love for us. We did nothing to deserve that, and there is nothing we can do to earn it. It is a total gift from God to us. I believe that if more people understood this, they would embrace God and subsequently cooperate with Him in their daily lives.
- Forgiving others, no matter how badly they hurt you! – Forgiveness is a virtue that we all find difficult to practice. Specifically, when we hurt others, we seek forgiveness; however, when we are hurt, we find it very difficult to forgive. We must pray for the grace to forgive others who have harmed us unselfishly. The more we pray for this great, unselfish love, the more we can share that love with others. Being a follower of Jesus can be very challenging at times.
- Living that unselfish love daily! – Love is not just a feeling; it inspires action. Once we have accepted God’s love as a gift, our instinct will be to care for and love others as God cares for and loves us.
- The Good Samaritan  (Luke 10:29-37). In this story, a priest and a Levite pass by a man who has been injured in a robbery. However, a Samaritan traveler is “moved with compassion” and helps the man by treating his wounds and finding him a place to recover.
We cannot contain God’s Love
God’s love is unlike any we have ever experienced. However, once we experience it, we cannot contain it. We must share it with others. That is agape love. Please share your thoughts on the article in the “Comments” section.
Peace
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