Unbounded Love

The power of God is the power of unbounded love. In biblical language, agape love. The most common expression for this in the New Testament is the verb agapao. This is the the self-giving, other-focused, ever-welcoming love of God that we see and experience in Jesus. It is God's creative power--that from which we come, the fullness of which we live toward, the grace of which we are immersed in every moment. Unbounded love is the only power that can save us.

As we considered it, we described such love this way:

1) No limits; unboundaried

2)Releases

3) unconditional

4) infinite

5) it transforms desire (coveting reshaped into giving)

6) creative, imaginative

7) means anyone can love anyone

We discussed real-life examples of people who have embodied this kind of love in our life, and we witnessed to their impact.

We listened to and reflected on several texts. Specifically, we considered at some length Jesus' teaching of the love of enemies (Matthew 5;43-45). He begins with, "You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy." One participant described this as "our default mode." But Jesus eliminates the boundary to loving: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven . . ." When we love our enemies, we love as God loves. There is an embodied experience of salvation for all parties in such love. A bit later, when Jesus says, "Be whole/complete, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is whole/complete (5:48)," he is speaking of completion in God's love. Quite a bit of "lab work" for the community of Jesus to faithfully explore!

We also considered Mark 10:21, in the story of Jesus and the rich man: "Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; then come, and follow me." It is compelling to consider Jesus' difficult invitation as an expression of deep love, and a beckoning to live a life joined with our Lord's. The man's possessions are barriers, and Jesus is one who removes barriers!

We also noted John 13:1: "having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." Jesus lived fully the life of agape love in deeply personal expression, without ever compromising that love or colluding with the powers that would limit it.