Agape Love

                Joey and Kim had been dating for almost a year and were thinking about taking their relationship to the next level.  They were both active in their church and knew what the Bible said about being equally yoked in their relationship.  Joey was the son of a long time minister and knew his parents would want the young couple to seek the wisdom of other couples that had been married for many years.  Kim on the other hand was the first person in her family to become Christian.  She came from a broken home and had only had limited interaction with father.  She really didn’t understand why Joey was so adamant about meeting with older couples.

                Reluctantly Kim gave into Joey’s persistent asking about talking to another couple.  He arranged to have dinner with a couple that had been married for almost fifty years.  The older couple had watched Joey grow up in the church and knew his parents very well.  They were excited about the opportunity to mentor a young couple just as another couple had done for them years prior.  They prayed over the notes they prepared for Joey and Kim.  They wanted to make sure God has His hands in everything they told the love birds.

The evening started out with the pleasantries and storytelling from over the years.  The older couple loved being able to tell the younger generation about how God put them together and all the adventures they had through their marriage.  They joked about how their parents and grandparents didn’t give them a chance to make it in the world.  The couple explained that their life had never been easy but was very rewarding.  God had blessed them with four great kids and a flock grandkids and great grandkids.  They beamed with pride when talked about their family and how God had been at the forefront of everything they had done. 

As dinner was winding down, Joey finally asked the one question that he needed the answer to.  He asked the older man what it took to make a marriage last.  Joey was expecting the gentleman to give him the standard answer of put God first in the marriage, but instead his answer was completely different.  The old man looked right into Joey’s eyes and said you must cleave unto your new wife.  He then quoted Genesis 2:24 from memory.  He explained that when the two are married, they become as one flesh.  They should have agape love.  Joey was so stunned by the response that he didn’t ask what he meant by agape love. 

Over the next few days, Joey spent every possible minute trying to understand what the old man meant by agape love.  Finally when he was about to give up, he asked his mom what it meant to

have agape love.  His mom did not hesitate to pull out her Bible and went to 1 Corinthians 13.  She said this is the love that God has for us and it is the love that we need to have for our spouse.  She started reading from verse 4, “4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude.  It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”  When she finished, she asked Joey if he could live up to those standards with Kim.  If he could, then he would have agape love for her.  She then reminded him that we are all created in the image of God and that He loves us unconditionally with agape love.

Lord, I pray tonight for my wife.  I know I have not lived up to the standards You have set out for me.  But by Your grace and mercy I am given the opportunity everyday to show her that I have an agape love for her.  You gifted her to me and I want to show her that Your gift is precious to me.  Lord, I also pray for anyone that is going into a relationship that is built on a brotherly or physical love.  Lord, transform that love into an agape love and take them deeper into their love for each other by them going deeper in their love for You.  Father you have laid out the perfect example of agape love for us, so I pray that we can follow the example and honor You in the process.  Thank you Lord for the love and mercy you bestow every day on the undeserving people that we are.  In Your precious name, Amen.