And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you will be able to take in with all followers of Jesus, the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God!
[Ephesians 3:17-19 MSG]
I am a student of the Agape love i.e. the love of God. I have been learning how to share Agape with others for years. I will continue on this learning curve for many more years (God willing!) A core part of my purpose, our purpose, is to learn to share the love of God within the body of Christ and to demonstrate the love of God to the world. In order to share this type of love with others one must:
1] be vulnerable – willing to be hurt knowing that we will be disappointed by believers and non-believers and knowing that God will heal us of all pain
2] be fearless, [because it is our fear that holds us distant from others]
3] consider how Jesus loved; secure to love others without intimidation for he knew how the Father loved him. He made us and he knows how fragile we are
4] be humble, knowing that we humans are odd creatures and we have received more pain from others than love and our natural reaction to real love mixes attraction with trepidation. We want the real and safe affection offered, but we are skeptical that there might be something negative coming out of the relationship.