AGAPE....Possible or Not?

 Is it possible in this life for the human race to truly display "unconditional love" to each other. Considering that we are born into sin, making us from the beginning, imperfect creatures; are we able to genuinely exhibit a "Perfect Love, Agape" and apply that to our daily lives in this world?

There have been many books, blogs, and articles written in an attempt to define love and it's many forms. We use the word "love" quite often as human beings, but I don't believe we truly know the meaning of the word only the context in which we use it. For instance; telling my wife that I love her does not have the same connotation as saying "I love apple pie, or I love my dog." It would be absurd for us to believe that the word "love" alone can be applied the same way each time we say it, the meaning lies in how it is used. Through my research, I have found that there are four different kinds of love all with different meanings and applications. In order to understand the word "love" and the different types there should be a clear definition of all. I will place these in the order of least importance and value in which I believe them to be.

Philia, brotherly love  "Mental Love"....a general love between friends and family. Dispassionate, virtuous love. A desire or enjoyment of an activity. Friendship.

Eros_(concept)  "Physical Love"....love at first sight. Initially felt for a person, with contemplation it becomes an appreciation of the beauty within that person, or even becomes appreciation of beauty itself. Love of my wife.

Storge, familial love  "Affectionate Love"....natural affection. Descriptor of relationships within the family. Expressing mere acceptance or putting up with situations. Parent to offspring.

Agape, unconditional love  "Perfect Love"....love in a spiritual sense. Selfless; gives and expects nothing in return. Purely sacrificial. Jesus dying on the cross. 

Agape Love is widely considered to be one exclusively given by God to humans. The other forms of love are attainable and a whole lot easier to show considering our nature. Most people ,including myself, expect something in return when we give of ourselves. This is not an attribute of the "perfect love." Lets take a look at 1 Corinthians 13 and see the descriptors of love given to the Corinthians by Paul.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

 

Pretty tall order if you think of this passage as things to do and not to do when loving someone. I am of the opinion that Paul is speaking of Agape in these scriptures. The very next passage in this chapter makes me question whether we as humans can truly portray selfless, sacrificial love.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

I have interpreted this to mean that we are "children" in this human tent, and we will not attain adulthood until we leave this life to spend eternity with our Heavenly Father. When we see the face of God, completeness will be realized at that moment. Perfection will take place, because there is no sin in Heaven. True unconditional love will wrap us tightly at this moment, and we will return the same. It will be the only time that true sacrificial, selfless, perfect, unconditional, Agape love can be felt and acted upon at the same time.

This is not to say that our attempts to give the perfect love are fruitless. Consider it this way. To love each other in perfection would indicate that we have nothing else to strive for, that we have already attained the exclusiveness of complete righteousness. God is love, and we are His children. The highest love we cannot give because "we are "human" and have not reached the pinnacle of completeness.

My conclusion is this; Live to give. Follow God with all your heart, mind, and soul. As we grow closer to Him spiritually we will naturally come closer to "Perfect Love." Love all the same as we love ourselves. Practice this daily.