More About Agape Love
Words can be funny things. If I say, “I’m cool,” I could either mean:
1. I am wonderful (not to mention arrogant), OR it could mean:
2. My body temperature is quite low. Can I please borrow your jacket?
The word “love” is one of those funny words. We use it in so many ways that, many times, the meaning is not very clear. For example, I can use the word “love” in these ways:
“I love summer camp at Agapé.”
“I love pizza.”
“I love my Grandma.”
“I love bugs.”
Do you really have the same feelings for your Grandma as you do for pizza? Not likely (I hope not!).
In the Bible, the word “love” has different shades of meaning. God helps us to know what those meanings are by using different words in the Greek. But of all the different words He uses, the very highest form of love—the Mount Everest kind of love that completely towers over all the other kinds of love…is called Agapé.
Simply defined, Agapé love is selfless love. It is a love that gives without looking for anything in return. If you give your friend a cookie at lunch because you’re hoping she’ll give you her donut, that is NOT Agapé love. That is being SELFISH. But if you give her a cookie because she has no lunch at all (and nothing to give you in return), that is being SELFLESS. And that is a little taste of Agapé love.
The greatest display of this Agapé love was shown by God Himself when He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross. As Jesus hung on the cross, He took God’s punishment for my sins, your sins, the whole world’s sins. As a result, we can now have peace with God by asking Him to forgive us of our sins.
Why did Jesus do that? It wasn’t so that we could give Him any payment in return. What could we possibly give Him? He made and owns everything!
He did it because of His… Agapé Love. He just wanted to prove how much He loves us. And that is what Agapé Valley is all about. We declare and show the love of God so that kids can enter into a personal relationship with Him and then live the lives God desires for them, lives that will show God’s Agapé love to others!