Family and Agape Part 1

In Luke chapter 2 we read that Jesus' parents were loking for him. They went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, and about a day into the return journey they found he was gone. It took them three days total to find Jesus. He was in the Temple, and when his mother told him how scared they were, he replied,

"Why is it that you were looking for me? Did you not know that I had to be in my Father's house?"

That doesn't sound very respectful or loving, does it? That's why we can learn a very important lesson from this. Jesus had desire. He said, "I HAD to be in my Father's house." It wasn't just that he wanted to be there; he needed to be there. That's how much he loved God. That's how much he desired God.

We often have pounded into our heads that family is everything. Family is number 1. But God says he is number 1, and Jesus felt this dedication. This is one of the main characteristics of Agape: dedication. If you Agape something, you are dedicated to it.

Desire and Dedication are two things essential to love in any life. If you don't desire something, you can't love it. And if you can't dedicate yourself to something, you can't love it either. It's a two way street.

And so, I have to ask, what do you Desire? What are you Dedicated to? What do you Agape?

Think about it seriously. It's no small matter. And remember that you can Agape more than one thing at a time. Consider if the things you Agape are worth it. Are they worth your time? Do you have a real desire, or a fake desire? Is being dedicated to them draining you, or filling you up? All of them are important questions with important answers.

And remember that God wants to be on that list--at the very top, in fact.