As a child, I remember learning the lyrics penned by Kirk Franklin: “Love is a word that comes and goes, but do people really know what it means to really love somebody?” I’m always struck by the flippant use of the word “love.” Is everyone worthy of your, “I love you?” Maybe… maybe not. It’s a decision that you could get to make with every encounter. 

Kirk’s lyrics ring true, “…but do people really know what it means to really love somebody?”. 

Many are aware of the various Greek expressions of love. If you have grown up in church any amount of time, then you have heard the term agape associated with God’s love for us. The term agape is usually further defined as “unconditional.” I truthfully understand the spirit behind the definition, but it seems short-sighted. All of us enter into relationships with conditions. Whether familial, platonic, or romantic, “ conditions “ are typically put into place. And when one party deems the “conditions” are not being met, their “love” is rescinded. 

We live in a world where love is always connected to conditions. It’s typically always transactional. This is what makes agape so powerful. It’s God’s disposition to us not based on conditions, but despite any conditions. God loves you. God loves me. There is no condition or circumstance that you and I can find ourselves wherein God’s gaze towards us isn’t loving. And that love has requirements. It makes a call to each of us in our relationships with our “neighbor” and even our enemies. Jesus loves me, this I know…. and it will never change.