The greatest characteristic a Christian can have is love. It must be the proper kind of love. Not a love that ignores error or refuses to stand for what is right, for that is not really love at all. It is only a cheap imitation of it. Proper love, however, is indispensable to our Christianity. Without it, Paul says, we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
As Christians, we must make love a part of who we are. It cannot be something we show just on rare occasions or only toward those who love us first. It must be a constant characteristic of ours. Paul referred to this as walking in love.
Ephesians 5:2 (ESV)
2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
The word walk in this verse is a present tense verb, indicating that it involves continuous action. To walk in love is to continue in it instead of loving every once in a while. Everybody loves at times, but Christians always love because our goal is to be like God. In the first verse of Ephesians 5, Paul said, “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Children imitate their fathers, and God is our heavenly Father. As we saw last night on holiness, He wants us to be like Him and this is true regarding love as well. Do you remember Jesus saying, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48)? If you look at the context of that passage, you will realize that Jesus was not saying that we can be as perfect like the Father in every way, but He was speaking specifically about love. We can love perfectly. Knowing the definition of love helps us to see this.
The Greek word for love is agape. The practical definition of agape is, “always acting in the best interest of others.” Notice that there is nothing overly emotional about this kind of love. Instead, it is intellectual. That is why agape can and is commanded. Emotions cannot be commanded, but purposeful action that begins with our reasoning ability can be. This is why we can love our enemies. I might not be able to feel good about my enemies, but I can determine to act in their best interest. That is love.
To walk in love is to do things lovingly. I might have to rebuke a brother in Christ for unrepentant sin in his life, but I must do it lovingly. I might have to correct a false teacher concerning the error that he is teaching, but I must do it lovingly. Love should be the motive behind almost everything that we do. I referenced 1 Corinthians 13 earlier. Here is what it says.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (ESV)
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
That says it all. It does not matter how much good we are doing or how much faith we have, if we do not have love, we gain nothing. Let us always be sure that we are not only doing the right things, but that we are doing them for the right reasons, and that all our deeds are covered with love. It is important to be steadfast and holy, but the motive for them, and everything else do, must be love.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.