Agape as Access to God’s Presence

Exactly a year ago, while I was praying about Paul’s use of “agape” (especially in Romans 5:5). I was inspired to understand that God gives the spiritual power of agape into our hearts as our way to open us up and have access to God’s Presence. What an exciting and inspirational 12 months have unfolded from that morning’s spiritual breakthrough. Of course, this blog was one of the results.

But these 12 months did not come about without a great deal of preparation. During the last several years of deeply opening up and realizing how God’s agape works in my life, I’ve discovered that there is spiritual power involved with agape that far surpasses anything that is meant by the word ‘love.’

One expression of that discovery was in my last posting when I explored the realization that Paul used a form of the Greek words for “love” as a metaphor to understand the spiritual power he experienced. I think he relied on a metaphor because our minds seem to need to use metaphors to understand Biblical truths. The reality that he tried to express with the strange word ‘agape’ was so powerful, and yet so essential to a his growth in faith, that he needed to help people understand it.

So Paul expressed that spiritual power with a word for an intense, intimate way of relating. In doing that he was very careful not to use the normal word for love. So I think he recognized that any of the usual words the Greeks used for love all fell very far short of the spiritual power he experienced. But he still needed a word that expressed intimacy, affection, and caring. But I think he saw that he would need to add meaning in order to express total, complete acceptance, support, and commitment -- without the beloved needing to fulfill any conditions -- and that means ANY condition at all. We remember how he explained in 1 Cor. 13:4, that would require the highest degree of patience and kindness. He was reflecting what Jesus had meant when he explained that we would need a depth of willingness to forgive such that the beloved could wrong you not just seven times but seventy-seven times (Mt. 18:22) -- and yet forgiveness is still granted.

I think also that Paul understood that a profound degree of spiritual development would be needed in order know God’s agape in our lives. Only a profound walk with God can begin to truly, deeply understand what happens when God opens us up with agape and uses agape to draw us into a close experience of Presence.

The other great insight that Paul learned from Christ’s spirit in his life involved actions toward other people. God’s agape not only opened us to divine Presence, but also agape opened us up to loving relations with those around us. What an insight into its double power! Through giving agape to humans, God makes it possible for us to be able to find the profound level of intimate, intense affection such that we can give full acceptance and mutual respect to everyone around us. And Paul knew a sad lesson too well from personal experience with people -- that such a way of relating does not come from normal human living. Only the power of God’s Presence can transform a human life to perform such profound actions.

So following Paul’s advice for our lives, we desperately need God’s agape in our living.