When agape love is seen in company with emotion it is usually described by and given its own name. For example: Hesed (Blog # 48). Thus we also have the titles mercy, grace, and charity for acts of agape love accompanied by emotion.
Scripture reveals the greatest demonstration of love as an act of the will in the emotion-laden gift of grace.
In the OT, grace from the Godhead is mercy without justification, undeserved mercy, and it is not restrained, never miserly, always generous.
The Hebrew verb, Hanan (Strong’s #2603),” to be gracious, considerate; to show favor, occurs around 80 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, the first time in Genesis 33:5: ‘The children which God hath graciously (hanan) given thy servant.” Generally, the word implies the extending of ‘favor,’ often when it is neither expected or deserved. Hanan may express ‘generosity,’ a gift from the heart (Psalm 37:21). God especially is the source of undeserved “favor” (Gen.33:11) and He is asked repeatedly for such ‘gracious’ acts as only He can do (Num. 6:25; Gen. 43:29).”
From the Greek noun, charis (Strong’s #5485), grace has various uses . . .
“(b) subjective, (1) on the part of the bestower, the friendly disposition from which the kindly act proceeds, graciousness, loving-kindness, goodwill generally, e.g., Acts 7:10; especially with reference to the divine favor or ‘grace,’ e.g. Acts 14:26; in this respect there is stress on its freeness and universality, its spontaneous character, as in the case of God’s redemptive mercy, and the pleasure or joy He designs for the recipient; thus it is set in contrast with debt, Romans 4:4, 16, with works, 11:6, and with law, John 1:17; see also, e.g., Romans 6:14, 15; Galatians 5:4; . . .(Vine’s, p.277).”
Grace is fully realized in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:7; 2:8).
Vine’s states, “The fact that Grace is received from both God the Father, 2 Corinthians 1:12, and from Christ, Galatians 1:6, Romans 5:15 (where both are mentioned), is a testimony to the deity of Christ . . . (Vine’s p.277).”
Christ’s suffering and death on the cross forms the ultimate statement of agape love and the ultimate act of charis grace.
No matter how unlovable a human being may be in ordinary terms, Christ advances this ultimate love to the human being through Grace as a non-rescindable offer.
It is a love that will never be withdrawn, it can only be rejected.
It is a love born of His will and this ultimate love will gloriously benefit all who receive it—from those who most deserve it to the least desirable, the most unlovable, the least deserving. And all that needs doing to benefit from this love is to accept His offer, consider it priceless and treasure it, and the benefit to the one who so does so will be eternal.
But to accept a gift one must know what it is and what it means. And remember it.
Remember the gift of agape love, the gift of charis grace, and the Great Gift-Giver, dear tour companion.
I’m going to. Always.
My choice.
To be continued . . .
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