The Way of Love

GOLDEN TEXT: “Follow after charity.”—I Corinthians 14:1

THERE is no other divinely approved way for the Christian except the way of love—or “charity,” as the King James translation puts it. In the Greek text the word agape is used, and the basic meaning of our English word charity is a fairly accurate translation. Simply stated, charity is the act of giving where there is no expectation of receiving payment in return. It is giving for the joy received from the thought of having done something for the blessing of others. In the Creator himself we have the greatest of all examples of giving.

The entire human race, born in sin and misshapen in iniquity, were and are objects of charity. They were undone, and hopelessly dying. God, recognizing the need, made a gift—a gift of charity—he gave his Son in order that the people might live. While it is the privilege of each one of the race when learning of God’s great love to dedicate himself to the service of the Lord, there is nothing any of us can do in return for God’s gift that will enrich him. God’s gift was purely one of love, and in it we have a perfect example of what it means to walk in the way of love. The entire Christian life should be one of giving, reaching its consummation in the giving of life itself.

I JOHN 2:7-11—John was the apostle who, more than the others, wrote on the theme of love. It was he who penned those precious words concerning God’s love for the world as manifested in the gift of his beloved Son. (John 3:16) Now, in his epistles, John applies the lesson of divine love to the Christian life. In this passage he contrasts love with hate, and shows that those who walk in love are in the light, but that those who hate their brethren are in darkness.

Hatred is an element of selfishness. Generally speaking, there would be no occasion for hating others unless they were in possession of that which would be of benefit to ourselves if we possessed it, such as money, influence, power, esteem, etc. In the world hatred often leads to murder as the means of obtaining that which another possesses. This is true with individuals and with nations. Nations have legalized murder and call it war.

How different is the operation of love! Love finds its chief joy in giving, and rejoices to see others happy. Love, instead of taking from others that which gives them joy, would rather give, that the joy of others might be increased. Thus we see that love and hate cannot dwell together in the same heart. If we have recognized God’s great love toward us in giving his Son, and are endeavoring to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we should be on the alert to detect the first indications of bitterness or hatred in our hearts and seek to have these defiling evils purged from us by a greater infilling of love.

I JOHN 2:15-17—We are not to love the world, “neither the things in the world.” The world is in darkness, one of the contributing causes of which is the fact that it does not follow the way of love. Light is used in the Scriptures to symbolize that which is in harmony with God, while darkness represents that which is contrary to the will of God. The divine plan is “light,” because it is God’s plan, while all teachings out of harmony with the divine plan are darkness. The same is true of practices based upon truth or upon error. The world is in darkness because it follows the way of selfishness. The true followers of Jesus, enlightened by the divine plan and walking in the way of love as revealed in that plan, are said to be walking in the “light.” These find themselves out of harmony with the world and its spirit of selfishness and have no love for it. They love the people in the world just as God does, and they are happy to lay down their lives with Jesus in order that they might later reign with him for the blessing of the people; but they are out of harmony with the selfish ways of the world. They are glad that the selfish world will pass away—come to an end.

I JOHN 3:13-18—The apostle reminds us that it is but natural that the world should hate us. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren,” not because the world is pleased with the way of love in which we are seeking to walk. Jesus loved his brethren, and gladly laid down his life for them and for all mankind, but the world hated him. That was because the darkness hateth the light.

“He that loveth not his brother abideth in death,” John wrote. The way of love is truly the way of life. God’s love provided the Redeemer, “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:15,16) However, true belief implies more than a mere mental assent of acceptance. It means also a turning from the way of selfishness to the way of love—an earnest endeavor to emulate the love which prompted the gift. And it must be more than a mere profession of love. John reaches the very core of the subject, declaring, “Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” Only as we love in “deed and in truth” by laying down our lives in God’s service may we be assured that we have passed from death unto life.

QUESTIONS:

What is the true meaning of the word “love” as applied to God?

What is the underlying cause of hate, and what is the only remedy for this great evil?

Why should Christians not love the world? Should we love the wicked people of the world?

Should Christians expect the world to appreciate the way of love in which they walk, and love them for it?

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