The word “love” just might be the most overused word in the English-speaking world. We love our families, and we love pizza. We love our friends, and we love certain books, movies and songs. We love one another and we love baseball or football. . .and so on and on. The English language presents many difficulties in communicating clearly, and this lack of differentiation in the use of the word love for different feelings and situations is certainly one of its biggest challenges.

We really cannot compare God’s love, displayed in the sacrifice of his Son for the salvation of the world, to how we feel about pizza, or even an adored spouse or child. We need different words to describe and understand the agape love of the Bible, the unconditional, selfless, and sacrificial love that God shows to us and that we are to show to others.

Christina Rossetti, 19th century English poet, expresses the wonder of God’s agape love in the person of Jesus Christ in a three-verse hymn written in 1885.

Our Christian faith is based on believing that at the center of the universe is God, overflowing with love for His world. The purpose of human existence then is to receive this love that has come to us through Jesus and then to give it back out to others. Christian love is others-focused, self-giving love, and that is agape love. It begins with Jesus’ birth at Christmas, but it is eternal.

Heavenly father, no matter how hard we try, it is difficult for us to imagine the breadth and depth of God’s love for us. We give you thanks for showing us this love in the life and works of Jesus Christ. May we always seek to be more like Him in all that we say and do.

Amen.

This episode was written by Pat Scruggs and read by Grace Jonas.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

If you would like to respond to these devotionals in any way, we would enjoy hearing from you. Our email address is: podcasts@1stchurch.org.

First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.