This is another place where words are confused. Love means many different things we must differentiate to understand. For example, there is the wonderful romance emotion of love that comes when mates-to-be fall in love. But just because two are in love with each other does not mean either necessarily “gives” love. The love you give is another kind of love, and is not an emotion. So with that said, let’s go directly to two other kinds of love, for they are far more important. If one cannot give love properly, it does little good to have the emotion of love.
We don’t need to go into the many names of love given in the Bible, but let’s concentrate first on “Agape.” This is usually seen as the highest form of love. It is given by one to another because we are directed to do so by our parents and God, and we learn to discipline ourselves to give it. Using agape has many benefits, as it causes people to do right to one another, rather than wrong. This directive would bring peace to the world, if everyone obeyed it. It forces us to do unto others as we would have others do unto us, whether we feel like it or not.
And that brings up a huge question. Why is it that we sometimes do not feel like doing good unto others? We could answer that it is hard to do good to another who is doing us wrong. But that doesn’t give the proper answer. No one was more wrongly treated than Jesus going to the cross. Yet He did it while asking the Father to forgive them, for they didn’t know what they were doing. He went to the cross because He knew the joy set before Him, and that it needed to be done for righteousness’ sake.?
And this brings up an important hidden point to be exposed. Let’s prove here that agape love is not the highest form of love, after all. Agape is something we have to learn to do, and the learning comes from obedience to the Law. God does not have to obey the Law to give love, does He? Jesus did not need the Law to give love, did He? The Holy Spirit does not need the Law to be Love, does He?
This shows that there must be another love, one that has no name we know of. And that is not so strange, when we consider that God never gave us His name, either. All the names He went by were descriptions of His attributes. Even the name, “Jesus” means, “Jehovah is salvation.” Here, and in other places, Jesus is called by His attributes. We have to have something to call God, so we call Him God. So we only know attributes, but not a real name. Likewise, the Holy Spirit is called “Love,” His attribute. But this kind of love needs no Law in order to be used. Nor will the Law follow us into Heaven, especially since the Law is a curse. (Gal. 3) We will go more into that later.
But if you can see it, love, wisdom, and righteousness all mean the same thing. You can’t love without wisdom and righteousness. You can’t have righteousness without having love and wisdom. You can’t have wisdom without love and righteousness; hence they mean the same thing.
Perhaps you see here that this kind of love does not need the Law to motivate it. It will be employed no matter the price, for righteousness’ sake. This is the kind of love Jesus gave at the cross. If we are to become like Jesus, then this kind of love must be our goal. We will show in its place what hinders that, and how to loose it in us.
But for now, please consider this: THE LAW CREATES FALSE LOVE. LOVE IS NOT CREATED. IT IS, BECAUSE I AM. This is very profound.
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