Love Dominion – Walking in Love

This week, we explore the unmatched power and influence of agape – the God-kind of love – and how to walk in this love daily. The Bible identifies four types of love: agape (God’s unconditional love), phileo (brotherly love), storge (familial love), and eros (romantic love). While agape is pure and unconditional, the other forms of love are often conditional, making them vulnerable to corruption and prone to causing hurt. Following the law of first mention, we denote that the first mention of love in the Bible is found in Genesis 22, where God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac: “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you” (vs.2). This event foreshadowed God’s ultimate act of love: sacrificing His Son, Jesus Christ, for the redemption of humanity (John 3:16). Abraham trusted God to raise Isaac from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19), teaching us that love in its purest form involves sacrifice and trust. However, man’s fall in Genesis 3 distorted their ability to walk in agape love; it was not just the glory or presence of God that they lost, but man lost the fundamental function of agape love. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the tree in the midst of the garden, they felt exposed and ashamed, causing them to hide from Him in fear (vs.8-10) – an indication of how sin distorts our perception of God’s love and separates us from Him. Fear, guilt, and shame became instinctive reactions to failure, causing many to flee God’s presence and the fellowship of believers when they err to this day. Yet, King David reminds us that God’s love is always ready to restore and heal us. He boldly declares, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there” (Psalm 139:7-8). Instead of running from God when we fall short, let us run to Him, embracing His forgiveness and mercy.

When God asked Adam, “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (vs.11), Adam blamed both Eve and God, saying, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (vs.12). This marked the first fracture in agape love: where selfless, unconditional love once flourished, sin introduced self-preservation and pride. Adam, who had celebrated Eve as “bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23), became self-serving, deflecting responsibility and protecting himself at her expense. This response contrasts sharply with King David’s, who was quick to repent when he sinned, trusting God’s mercy and forgiveness. Sin affects our ability to love purely, but agape restores us to unity with God and with one another. As Colossians 3:14 reminds us, “Above all these virtues, put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.” The absence of agape after the fall led to a widespread corruption of love, evident in the story of Cain and Abel. Consumed by envy that Abel’s offering pleased God, Cain murdered his own brother (Genesis 4:8), because agape had been replaced by selfish ambition and vanity. This same pattern persists today: relationships flourish until one outshines the other, then jealousy and strife creep in, tearing apart the unity that love fosters. Thus, agape was absent from the world from Adam till Jesus (Romans 5:14), and death reigned by reason of the absence of agape. But we thank God that He has redeemed and restored us through the ultimate demonstration of His love, agape – the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

How then do we practically walk in agape? The first step is fellowship with God through His Word. To walk in love, we must know God – who is love personified – by staying our minds on His Word. Without this foundation, our experience of His love is limited. Romans 5:5 assures us that agape already dwells in us: “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” And as we meditate on God’s Word to do it, our capacity to love deepens. The second step is doing the Word; love goes beyond words and emotions – it must be accompanied by action. The Lord said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Practicing this love and living it out daily allows it to grow further. Scripture declares, For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Galatians 5:14). Lastly, as we walk in fellowship with other believers, we grow in agape. This is why Hebrews 10:25 urges us to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but to continually exhort one another in love. As we walk in God’s Word, His love is perfected in us. For “whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him” (1 John 2:5). Agape restores and heals what sin has broken: it draws us closer to God and one another, and it exemplifies His nature. As 1 John 4:7-12 urges: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God … if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” Let us choose to walk in this perfect love daily, allowing it to transform our lives and the lives of those around us.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for pouring out Your love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Teach us to walk in Your perfect love daily, and may this love transform us and draw us closer to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen!