A Covenant of Love

The Bible tells us of a new covenant we have with God. It is a covenant of love.  The evidence of us being actively engaged in this covenant is the way we love others, especially those of the household of faith. Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” The truth is, loving others to the degree this covenant requires cannot be achieved by our own natural efforts, or our own human capacity to love. That’s because human love is inherently selfish by nature. It’s easy and natural for us to love people when we believe they deserve it or are worthy of our love. God’s love is different. The Greek word for God’s love towards us is called agape.  This is an unconditional love. It’s the love God had for us when He sent His only begotten Son to die a horrible death for us on the cross. Jesus was completely innocent of sin, He only lived to please His Father, in fact, He delighted in it! But God’s agape love for His creation was so fierce that He was willing to give away His best for people who did nothing to appreciate or deserve His sacrifice. Why did He do it? Because agape love always wins in the end. There is nothing more powerful than God’s unconditional, unselfish love. It is the purest form of love and therefore lethal to the enemy. It is mighty enough to move God to pay the ultimate price for the redemption of the guilty. It is strong enough to empower the blood of Jesus to cleanse the most wicked of hearts. God’s agape love caused the impossible – it reconciled us back to the Father, where we can live in an inseparable relationship with Him – forever. The Bible says God’s Own supernatural, agape love can continuously be poured into our hearts by His Holy Spirit. All we need to do is open our hearts to it and receive it by faith. As we meditate on God’s great love for us, with grateful hearts, it will flow like a mighty force from His Spirit into ours. As we abide in Him, His love abides in us. This love will cause us to love others as we are loved by God – and all will know we belong to His covenant of love.