Your Capacity to Love

John 13:35 - By this all men will know whose you are - Your capacity to love

The word love in Greek is agape and it refers to a benevolent and charitable love that seeks the best for others always. Agape love is selfless and therefore conditioned upon consideration and care for others without the social norm of reciprocity. Agape love is the most perfect love to which humans strive but often fall short because we are imperfectly made. Though we are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God, we are imperfect.

In business and community life, I often talk about the importance of striving for excellence and not perfection - because perfection is an elusive standard that can only be validated by the Creator. Excellence, however can be determined by reasonable people with reasonable experience to judge.

Loving excellently, is the mark that many of us strive for and that I believe we can all achieve. It means treating others as you would like to be treated. If you want an environment that rewards your talent, a system that is fair to you, then advocate for that same environment and system for others - this is excellent love. If you want to raise your kids in a safe environment advocate the same for others. If you want economic security, social mobility, clean air and safe drinking water - then advocate this for others. In an excellent world we would demonstrate our love for people because of enlightened self-interest. This is practical application of our greatest mandate to love. And by this, that is the practical application, all men will know whose you are. Because you love yourself, you have the capacity to love others.