Fruit of the Spirit: Love
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe
Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV) : “But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control. Against such there is no law.”
The first attribute mentioned in the
fruit of the Spirit is love. Many times
in Scripture, the first mentioned in a list is foundational to the rest of the
list. We can see that in the list of the
fruit of the Spirit. Love is
foundational to all the others. 1
Corinthians 13:1-3 (NKJV) declares, “Though
I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have
become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could
remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I
bestow all my goods to feed the poor,
and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me
nothing.”
None of the good things that we might do
have any significance if they are not done in love. The original Greek word in both the above
texts is agape. Agape has been defined as “selfless, sacrificial,
unconditional love.” (http://christianity.about.com/od/glossary/a/Agape.htm)
This is the love that Christ has for His
bride, the Church. It is also the love
that we are to show toward one another.
Agape
also refers to “love feasts.” In
that context we see that agape implies
covenant. In the Biblical culture,
covenants were sealed with a feast. The
Lord’s Supper that we receive is a covenant meal wherein we reaffirm our
covenant with our Lord and with one another.
In the Bible, a covenant is sacred, a bond that cannot be broken. We use the word more casually in our
experience. Check the following website
for more information about Biblical covenant: http://www.traviscase.org/Sermons/Covenants/CovenantRelationship.html
Love has little to do with emotions,
hearts and flowers, rings and things.
Love is a covenant, an eternal commitment between two parties. In our western culture, we have generally
lost the concept of love as covenant. We
have adopted the Greco-Roman concept of Eros/Cupid. In both the Greek and Roman cultures, Eros or
Cupid is pictured as a blind child. The
symbolism is that of a foolish child blinded by his emotions. God’s love for us, agape, is not blind. His
love sees us as we are and loves us anyhow.
That is the way we are to love one another. That is mature love.
A
love scripture on which to meditate:
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NKJV) “Love
suffers long and is kind; love
does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave
rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not
rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”
Now, read the verses this way: “My love for others is patient and kind; my
love for others keeps me from envy. My
love does not allow me to call attention to myself. My love is not prideful. Because of my love for others, I will be
polite; I will not seek to have my own way all of the time; I will not be
easily provoked into argument and anger; I will think good thoughts toward
others; I will not rejoice in sinfulness; I will rejoice in the truth, no
matter how painful it may be; I will bear all things, believe all things the Lord
has spoken, hope all things and endure all things. Because of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my
life, my love toward God and others is an eternal covenant.”
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