The basic or foundational instruction of God to us, His created human beings, is to love Him and one another wholeheartedly (Matthew 22:37-39; John 13:34-35). This love is what we call “agape” in Greek. agape is what we need to live out.
A little description of agape is given in I Corinthians 13:4-8:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”(NIV)
To be able to live the agape life, one needs to be filled with God’s Holy Spirit; otherwise it is just impossible to love everybody as God does. To receive the Holy Spirit, we need to repent of our sins, ask God for His forgiveness, believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and receive Him in our hearts. We can say a prayer like this:
“ O God, I am a sinner. I repent of all my sins. Please forgive me. I believe in Your son Jesus Christ as My Lord and Savior. I welcome Him in my heart now. I have decided to follow Him for the rest of my life. Thank You, Lord, for filling me right now with Your Holy Spirit. Amen.”
When we receive the Holy Spirit, and are willing to do God’s will always, we will manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23:
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (NIV).
If we look more closely, we will notice that agape love, as described in I Corinthians 13:4-8, does include all the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Love is patient (patience), love is kind (kindness). It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude (gentleness), it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered (self-control), it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices (joy) with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (peace/goodness/faithfulness). An agape life is a Holy Spirit-filled life. A Holy Spirit-filled life is an agape life.
May we all live the agape or Spirit-filled life. May we all be led in our daily living by agape (God’s love) and by the Holy Spirit.
"O Lord God, may your agape and Holy Spirit prevail all over the world. So be it, O Lord! Amen."
Praise, honor, and glory be to Our Lord God now and forever.
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