"For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love" (Gal. 5:6 KJV).
To truly love someone is to commit yourself to that person without guarantee. Therefore, love is an act of faith, and we know that faith works by love.
It is a spiritual law. It is the nature of love to generate love in the life of others: You sow love and you will get love. That is another spiritual law—you reap what you sow.
It is not how much love you have, but the quality of your love that is important. Likewise, it is not how much faith you have that God looks at, but the quality of your faith.
The love in 1 Corinthians 13 is a certain kind of love. It is "agape" or the God-kind of love. There are four Greek words for love that the Bible talks about: agape; phileo; storge; and eros. All four of them have the characteristic of uniting, but agape is the highest kind of love.
Agape sees people as being valuable and precious. It is determined by the character of the one who loves, not the one being loved. That is why God can love us. His love is determined by His character, not ours.
God looked at us in our sins and saw us as valuable and precious - worth enough to send His own son to die for us. No matter what we have done or will do, He sees us that way. He loves us.
Agape love is a choice. You must choose to see others as God sees them. So, if God says that someone is valuable and precious, then that is the way it is. When you realize that, your love walk will be a lot easier.
As we develop God's character in our lives, it enables us to love people no matter what they do to us. We love them because of His character that is on the inside of us.
Study references: Gal. 6:7; 1 John 4:10
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Pastor Deborah L. Butler is the first lady of Word of Faith International Christian Centre located in Southfield, Michigan where she serves in ministry with her husband, Bishop Keith A. Butler.
Pastor Deborah is a licensed and ordained minister of the Gospel. Her encouraging, yet down-to-earth teaching imparts wisdom from the Word of God to all that hear her speak. One of Pastor Butler's many duties is serving as the Director of the Women of Virtue Ministry. Pastor Deborah is often called to travel to other ministries to teach and admonish women to walk in the wisdom of God and to experience peace in every area of their lives.
