A Birthday Blog
Here we are again! It seems like September 20th arrives faster and faster every year, and I get another day older. It’s a good thing that I serve a God who can renew my youth like the eagle.
So, what do I want to do for my birthday? I want to engage us in a conversation about love — my favorite subject!
Do you remember this song?
“What the world needs now, is love sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of”
(first sung by Jackie DeShannon, lyrics by Hal David, music by Burt Bacharach)
The song is actually older than me! For those too young to recall it, you can Google it 😀. The opening lyrics of this 60-year-old song came to mind as I thought about the current state of the world.
Why Love is Often Dismissed
- We use the word so loosely — “I love pizza!”, “I love that song!”, “I love Bob” (you just met last week).
- We do not understand that there are different kinds of love, and their definitions denote their usage and potency.
The Love We Need: AGAPĒ
The type of Love we are talking about today is the AGAPĒ love of God.
THAT is what the world needs now, and what we all desperately need to receive and release!
All love is good and needed, but AGAPĒ LOVE is the secret sauce.
Four Types of Love (Greek)
- Agapē: God’s love — self-sacrificial, unconditional.
- Phileō: brotherly affection, friendship, love.
- Storgē: family/affectionate love.
- Eros: romantic/sexual love.
However, the only type of love strong enough to fix a messed-up and evil world is AGAPĒ love.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
This verse highlights the most important aspects of Agapē’s love: it gives, it gave, and it is sacrificial.
Aspects of God’s Agapē Love
- Romans 5:8 – It is why Christ died for us.
- John 13:34–35 – It is what we are commanded to give and how we show ourselves to be true disciples of Jesus.
- John 15:13 – It is the ultimate sacrificial gift.
- 1 John 4:7–8 – It is the only way we can claim we know God.
- 1 John 4:18 – It is the only true solution for fear.
How Can We Love Like God?
I can hear some of you saying, “Well, we are not God, how can we love in this way?”
How? We use HIS LOVE.
If we try to conjure up love, it will most likely be Phileō, Storgē, or Eros love. So we don’t rely on ourselves; we use the love God gave us. Once we have received Christ, His Holy Spirit will give it to us.
Romans 5:5
“…and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
AGAPĒ in Action
How can we:
- Forgive someone who has severely hurt us physically, mentally, or emotionally? AGAPĒ
- Live a life free of offense? AGAPĒ
- See the best of every person, regardless of their shortcomings? AGAPĒ
- Have a civil conversation with someone whose views oppose ours? AGAPĒ
- Change the culture of our family? AGAPĒ
Practical Application: 1 Corinthians 13 Love Checklist (AMPC)
Let us check ourselves periodically to see if we are ‘agape-loving’ ourselves and others:
- Love endures with patience and serenity (13:4) – Am I patient with people, even when they are slow, frustrating, or unkind?
- Love is kind and thoughtful (13:4) – Do I show kindness in tone, action, and attitude?
- Love is not jealous or envious (13:4) – Do I rejoice in others’ blessings without resentment?
- Love does not brag (13:4) – Do I avoid boasting or drawing attention to myself?
- Love is not proud or arrogant (13:4) – Do I walk in humility rather than pride?
- Love is not rude or disrespectful (13:5) – Do I treat others with dignity and courtesy?
- Love is not self-seeking (13:5) – Do I look out for others’ interests, not just my own?
- Love is not easily angered (13:5) – Am I slow to take offense and quick to forgive?
- Love does not keep a record of wrongs (13:5) – Do I let go of grudges instead of keeping score?
- Love does not rejoice at injustice or wrongdoing (13:6) – Do I refuse to delight in gossip, failure, or harm done to others?
- Love rejoices with the truth (13:6) – Do I celebrate honesty, integrity, and what is right?
- Love bears all things (13:7) – Do I protect, cover, and support others in their weaknesses?
- Love believes all things (13:7) – Do I give others the benefit of the doubt and trust God’s work in them?
- Love hopes all things (13:7) – Do I keep hope alive, even in difficult relationships or situations?
- Love endures all things (13:7–8) – Do I remain steadfast through trials, not giving up on people easily?
Phew! My goodness, I don’t know about the rest of you, but I still have some work to do in emulating this kind of love daily.
Here’s the truth: this is the only way we can be transformed into Christ-likeness, and the only way we can help transform the lives of others.
Remember: How we receive God’s love is how we will love our spouse, which affects how we love our children. This, in turn, affects our communities, which affects our nations! It all starts with us receiving and releasing the AGAPĒ love of God!
Birthday Reflection
As I celebrate another year of life, I am reminded that what the world truly needs now — and what each of us needs every day — is AGAPĒ love.
Just like that timeless song says, love is the thing we often have too little of, yet it is the most powerful gift we can give and receive.
On this birthday, my prayer — for myself and for all of you — is that we continue to receive God’s love, let it flow through us, and change the world one act of agapē at a time.
That’s it for this birthday blog. I am grateful that this last year I have experienced the love of my family, both biological and Kingdom. I have certainly basked in the love of my Papa God, my Savior Jesus Christ, and my Best Friend, the Holy Spirit! There is nothing like it — I wouldn’t trade the love of God for anything in this world. It is my all-time favorite birthday gift 👏
Peace & Love,
Dawn Antoinette
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