“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22).
The word “love” here is “agape,” a word whose definition has the broadest spectrum of meaning of the four Greek “love” words used in the New Testament. In Scripture, it is used in describing the supreme love of God and of Jesus as well as the love we, God’s creation, are to have for Him and Jesus and for our fellow men.
Our love for others follows God’s example—it is undeserved and unconditional, meaning it is love given to those not worthy of our love. And Vine furthers the meaning by wisely adding, “Love can be known only from the actions it prompts.”
Such a forceful directive to “pursue…love” leaves us without excuse and without option in our relationship with others. We are to love the unlovable and undeserving as God has done for us in granting us the opportunity to come to Him according to His plan and to serve Him according to His Will.
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