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Written by Claudia Pérez, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Alabama
As Christian women, our daily goal is to imitate Christ and walk as He walked, especially in the way that He loved, because this will reflect that we know God. So said the Master, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35 NIV). But how can we love as Christ loved?
Without a doubt, the meaning of loving as Christ loved is found in the book of John, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The expression "so loved" expresses the magnitude of God's love, a love so great that even though we were sinners, our God sacrificed His only Son to die for us.
First of all, to love as Christ loved, we must understand that sacrifice is required. The Lord gave Himself as a sacrifice for us; His body was martyred on the cross of Calvary because He loved us. If you and I want to love as Christ loved, how do we imitate that sacrifice? The apostle Paul tells us: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship” (Rom. 12:1). Thus, this sacrifice consists of giving up ourselves and sacrificing our lives completely in the service of our God.
The Master also said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13), and it is with that love that Christ loved us and gave Himself up. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16).
John 3:16 and 1 John 3:16 get my attention because of their similarity; in them I find the perfection of God in every way, showing us His great love and teaching us how to practice this great love towards our neighbors.
While it is true that today, while almost no one would die for any human being, we must understand that loving our neighbors requires sacrificing our desires and priorities for their good. The Master loved us not only by sacrificing His life and giving up Himself, but by enduring humiliation, and dying in the most humiliating way.
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! (Phil. 2:6-8)
It is sad to see how we forget to imitate this way of loving when we allow there to be lawsuits between us, when we wrong our sisters, when we defraud our sisters, and let pride, revenge and injustice dwell in us. Many times, we think that forgiving or asking for forgiveness is humiliating. That thought is too often within us, and we forget about obedience to our God, and that love that was shown on the cross of Calvary. But this is not just a current problem; let's remember what happened in the Corinthian church. There were lawsuits among themselves, and they deceived each other and the apostle Paul exhorted them in this way, “Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?” (1 Cor. 6:7b)
Let us not allow Satan to gain advantage in our lives and tempt us to do wrong, knowing that God will exalt us on that day, and we will be obeying the greatest commandment,
Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:37-39)
To love as Christ loved is sacrifice, surrender, obedience, humiliation, suffering, and dispossession. It is giving our lives to the service of God and our sisters. My sisters, let us love as the Master has given us an example. If you have not yet given your life to the Lord, you have not allowed that love to take effect and be reflected in your life because you have not known God, and God is love.
To love as Christ loved is to give our lives unreservedly to God, but it is also to love our fellow man as ourselves. Are you willing to imitate the Master's love? Are you willing to love as Christ loved?
Written by Michelle J. Goff, Founder and Director of Iron Rose Sister Ministries
The Greeks used at least six different words for what English summarizes in one word: love.
Eros described physical love or sexual desire.
Philia defined brotherly love.
Storge characterized familial love.
Mania was obsessive love.
Pragma, a love based on duty or obligation, referred to a practical love.
Finally, agape, described unconditional, sacrificial love.
Agape is the word used most often throughout the New Testament. Unconditional, sacrificial love characterizes the love that God has for us and the love that He calls us to have for others.
Often known as the apostle that Jesus loved, John speaks the most about love than any of the other writers. He quotes Jesus speaking about it and he illustrates it through his own writings, inspired of course, by the Holy Spirit.
While teaching Nicodemus, Jesus explained, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV)
- God does not love based on duty or obligation (pragma). Unconditional (agape) love is a choice.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:9, 12-13)
- Jesus speaks about love as sacrificial (agape), not merely a brotherly love (philia).
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12)
- The familial love (storge), that the Father and the Son have, is the foundation on which their agape love for others is laid. They do not just speak of agape love theoretically, but rather show that love that we might live through them (1 John 4:9, above).
One of the beautiful things about God’s agape love for us is that if we truly dwell in His love, God’s perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18).
I cannot love perfectly on my own. We live out love for God and for others when we are first filled to overflowing by His love.
Max Lucado wrote a book entitled, A Love Worth Living. The premise of this book is based on the idea that the 1 Corinthians 13 definition of love is our goal. If those characteristics of love are what we are all expected to maintain, we will fail. Lucado affirms that if we were to fill in our own names in the place of the word love, we would feel extremely inadequate and insufficient.
Using only verse 4 of 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” Michelle is patient… with children. Michelle is kind, usually. Michelle does not envy… most things. She tries not to boast. Uh, and that pride issue… well…
Conversely, as Lucado proposes, we can change our obvious imperfection to an expectation that God in us can be all of what love is because we are an outpouring of His love!
God in Michelle is patient. God, through Michelle, is kind. Because of God, Michelle does not envy. She boasts in the Lord (as Paul does). And through Christ’s example of humility, Michelle is not proud.
God sees us through the eyes of agape love. He is always kind and keeps no record of wrongs. Agape love never fails.
May we remain in His love to such a degree that we serve as broken vessels for the outpouring of His agape love.
What do you most love about God’s love?
How can you love like Christ loves today?
