1
TIMOTHY 4:12
A
CHOICE TO LOVE
Let no
man despise thy youth;
but be thou an example of the believers,
in word, in conversation, in charity26,
in spirit, in
faith, in purity.
26 – agapē – from 25, charity,
dear, love
25 – agapaō – to love (in a
social or moral sense)
Every time we see the word translated
charity in the King James Version of the Bible it means the God kind of love,
Christ-like love. It is a choice to love rather than being based on an
emotional response. Paul was exhorting Timothy that even in his youth, he could
be a model of the kind of love shown by the God-Man Jesus, the Christian kind
of love. Paul the Apostle placed Timothy in the position of overseer to the
believers in Ephesus. Paul encouraged Timothy to be exemplary in all facets of
biblical godliness. He was to sparkle as one of God’s precious jewels among the
believers.
I have a dear friend who is a
prime example of this type of love, truly a precious jewel. Janelle had already
shown me love in many ways when she came to visit me saying, “I have to
apologize to you.” Incredulously I asked, “Why would you need to apologize to
me?” She explained that she had loved me but not as Christ would love me. She
said Jesus had asked her specifically to love me as He would, on His behalf,
and she had answered yes. She has fulfilled that promise to the Lord many times
over. She stayed with me in the hospital in Tulsa to give my family members an
opportunity to rest and freshen up. She visited me numerous times in my apartment.
Janelle even flew all the way from Arkansas to Texas to stay with me in the
hospital while my friend and co-laborer, Susie, went home to prepare a place
for me in her apartment. She tended to my needs with a tender care that can
only come from the love of Jesus within her. When she sees me, she sees Jesus
and ministers to me as if I were He. Her Christlike love is an example of how
the familyship of God should behave toward one another.
Do you have a Janelle in your
life? Better yet, are you being that kind of loving, consistent friend to
someone else? Pray the Lord will surround and fill you with this agapē love.
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