12 Practical Examples Of Agape Love God Wants Us To Show

In this post, you will learn about the 12 examples of agape love in action that will help you selflessly love others as Jesus Christ first loved us.

Agape love is a deeper form of love than philia love. It is a special kind of love that God has for us and it is the kind of love that we should have for others.

Agape Love is defined as: “the unselfish, self-sacrificing love that God has for his people.” (1 Corinthians 13:13). It’s the kind of love that only God can give.

We as human beings in our natural fallen state can’t produce this kind of love due to the inherently selfish nature we all have and are born with because of our fall.

The lack of this agape love is the reason why most relationships, friendships, and marriages are not lasting these days as everyone is all about themselves and their own selfish needs.

However, if you want to love others selflessly, you need God’s agape love in your life Jesus Christ talked about in the New Testament, which will enable you to sacrificially love others without any selfish motives.

Sadly, to a selfish fallen human love is all about who you are to me and what I can get from you, period. Naturally, we humans can only love others if they have something to benefit us.

With that said, let’s look at the 12 examples of agape love that differentiate it from human love which is always selfish and conditional with references to bible verses in both the old testament and the new testament.

What Is Agape Love? Biblical Definition.

Agape love is selfless, unconditional love. It is the love that gives of itself freely and without expecting anything in return. Agape love is not possessive or jealous; it does not seek to control or manipulate others.

It does not envy or resent others and it does not judge them. Agape love is the eternal kind of love that God has for all people.

Agape love can be described as “unconditional” because it does not depend on what you have done for someone else or what they have done for you.

In fact, if you do something wrong to someone else, it doesn’t matter and their reaction to your actions won’t change how much agape you have for them, unlike humans love which will fail in these instances.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 summarizes what agape love is all about which seems to be lacking in many relationships and marriages today because if many understood what true love is all about, divorces or infidelities wouldn’t exist in this world.

12 Examples Of Agape Love In Action.

Below are the 12 examples of agape love that God expects you to show to others if you claim to love Him with all your heart.

Jesus Dying For Our Sins.
Selflessly Meeting The Needs Of Others.
Forgiving Others Who Hurt You Badly.
Proving Love To Others With Your Actions.
Forbearance.
The Good Samaritan.
Loving Others Undeserving Of Your Love.
Jesus Forgiving A Sinful Woman.
Loving God Wholeheartedly.
Loving Someone The Way They Need To.
Putting The Needs Of Others First.
Serving Others Selflessly.

1. Jesus Dying For Our Sins.

This article will be incomplete if our Lord Jesus Christ wasn’t included as He’s the definition of what agape love is all about which He demonstrated by dying for our sins as He loved us while we were yet sinners and undeserving of His selfless unconditional love (Romans 5:6-11). No other person in this world will ever love you the way Jesus Christ does. Only His unconditional love He has for you can satisfy your soul, not selfish human love.

2. Selflessly Meeting The Needs Of Others.

Being willing to selflessly meet the needs of others without expecting in return is also another example of agape love in action that God calls us to show to others just as He loves us. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, we see that agape love seeks to serve others selflessly rather than to be served and is not self-seeking. If you are married, this is what you are called to do to your spouse rather than saying that you will only love your spouse if they do abcd for you.

3. Forgiving Others Who Hurt You Badly.

Being able to forgive people who have hurt you deeply in your life even when they don’t deserve it is another form of agape love you can show to others. This is especially true if people did something horrible to you when you were young such as sexual abuse. If you are in such a situation, you need to pray for the grace to forgive and that God gives the agape love that easily forgives others (1 Corinthians 13:7). God’s divine love in you is what will enable you not to hold grudges against those who hurt you.

4. Proving Love To Others With Your Actions.

Agape love is an action word, not an emotional word or feeling word; it means doing something for someone else with no expectation of anything in return from them at all. It’s not “I want you to do this for me so that I will feel good about myself” but instead “I want you to do this because you want to do it out of love.” You can’t say you love someone if you can’t prove it to them with your actions. If you love someone, show it by your actions, not mere words (Romans 13:8).

5. Forbearance.

In 1 Corinthians 13:7, we are told that agape love which is different from philia love is patient and bears all things which implies that you are going to easily forbear with other’s shortcomings. It means that you won’t get easily offended or annoyed by what others do to you whether in church or not as you will understand that you are dealing with imperfect humans prone to making mistakes that you would otherwise fail to do if you had no agape love.

6. The Good Samaritan.

The parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus Christ taught in Luke 10:25-37 summarizes how we should love and treat our neighbors. In that parable, a man was beaten to near death and left for dead, two people, a priest, and a Levite merely passed by without helping the dying man. However, a Samaritan passed by and saw the helpless dying man and had compassion for him by taking care of him without expecting anything in return. This is what Christ expects us to do to others.

7. Loving Others Undeserving Of Your Love.

If God’s love is reigning supreme in your heart, you are going to easily love others who seemingly don’t deserve your love, especially those who have mistreated you or hurt you badly in one way or the other in your life (1 Corinthians 13:7-8). For example, if your spouse is mistreating you, instead of doing the same to them, you are going to unconditionally love them instead by showing them the selfless love and sacrificial love only God can give you by selflessly serving your spouse even if they mistreat you.

8. Jesus Forgiving A Sinful Woman.

Another example of agape love in the bible we can see is in the case of Jesus Christ forgiving a sinful woman who came to Him with a flask of ointment to anoint Him as we see in Luke 7:36-50. As you read that story further, you see that Jesus Christ had compassion for this sinful woman by forgiving her of all her sins rather than being judgmental as most people would which made this woman kiss the feet of Christ Jesus as well as wipe His feet with her hair. This is the kind of mercy and forgiveness Christ expects us to show to others who have wronged us.

9. Loving God Wholeheartedly.

God’s word tells us in Mark 12:30,31 that we must love the Lord our God wholeheartedly, which is the first golden rule He’s, gave us which is followed by loving our neighbor as ourselves. If you say you love God wholeheartedly, you are going to do anything for Him and to keep His word. For example, you will sacrifice anything in your life just for your love for God, which can be your job, time, money, etc. just to see God’s kingdom move forward.

10. Loving Someone The Way They Need To.

If you claim to love someone, especially your spouse, you are to love them the way they need to be loved not the way you think they should be loved. Implying that you are going to be willing to learn the love language of that person, which can be appreciation, acts of service, quality time, etc. that you will act upon. After all, the agape divine love that is from God is all about wanting to serve others rather than seeking to be served as John 15:13 reminds us about what true Christian love is all about.

11. Putting The Needs Of Others First.

When God’s agape love is reigning supreme in your life, you are going to put the needs of others first rather than insisting on your own needs to be made first. This is especially true in marriage and if you claim to love your spouse, you will put their needs above your own which sadly most couples don’t do due to selfishness. You need to remember that true love is all about serving each other and laying down your life for the person you claim to love as there is no greater love than that (John 15:13).

12. Serving Others Selflessly.

Last but not least, another example of agape love you can demonstrate and show to others is by serving them selflessly without expecting anything in return which is what unconditional love is all about, anyway. This applies very well in a marriage and in the body of Christ where Romans 12:9-21 tells us that our love for each other must be without dissimulation or selfish motives. Implying that we ought to selflessly help or serve others be it in marriage without expecting anything in return which human love cannot do.

Conclusion.

I hope the above 12 examples of agape love in the bible will now help you selflessly love others the way God expects you to without any selfish motives that human love comes with. In closing, if this post edified you to be more loving to others, let me know in the comments below, and don’t forget to share before you leave. Always remember that love always wins.

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