The Power of Love

Dr. Charles Stanley asserts that love is the single strongest motivation and an awesomely powerful force unmatched by anything else in life. The ultimate choice for every individual is whether to live consumed by anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness, or to allow the inexhaustible, infinite resource of the love of Almighty God to flow through them.

Stanley’s message, drawn from 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 (often called “the chapter of love”), defines this divine love, known as agape, not as a mere response to others, but as a conscious action and choice that empowers and enables believers to live in ways that are otherwise impossible.

The Preeminence of Love: Above All Else (H2)

The Apostle Paul establishes the preeminence of love in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians 13. Love is superior to the most highly valued human and spiritual achievements:

• Communication: Love is more important than our ability to communicate.
• Knowledge and Faith: It is far more important than our biblical knowledge and understanding of the Word of God.
• Accomplishments: It is far more important than faith that is able to achieve great accomplishments in life.
• Generosity and Sacrifice: It is far more important than generosity (giving to the poor) and even the ultimate sacrifice of our own personal life.

When we consider our relationship with God, the motivation should be pure love for Him, not fear. Obedience should be the result of love, not fear. Those who know Jesus Christ as their Savior have “tapped into” this infinite resource, giving them a capacity to love that most people will never understand.

The Core Attributes of Agape Love (H2)

Stanley examines the positive actions that love enables us to perform, focusing on traits that require setting aside the natural human impulse toward self-interest. To genuinely love, we must be willing to forget self and push it aside.

1. Patience and Waiting on God (H3)

Love is patient. This means love empowers us to wait on God’s timing and purposes. It enables us to wait concerning people, holding back or backing off until we are certain of God’s timing.

• Waiting Amid Frustration: Love provides the capacity and courage to wait when there is frustration or when circumstances seem unchangeable.
• True Love Seeks Best for Others: True agape love waits for what is best for the other person’s life, including waiting for them to grow up or mature. A quick desire for fulfillment at the other person’s expense is not agape love.

2. Kindness and Healing (H3)

Love enables us to be kind and express kindness toward others, regardless of whether they are kind to us.

• Responding to Abuse: Even when we are criticized, abused, or falsely accused, the love of God inside us allows us to respond in kindness, overcoming the human tendency to respond as the world does.
• Healing Intent: Kindness carries the idea of healing. It means being willing to go out of our way to reach out and lift up someone who is hurting, discouraged, or despairing. This desire to heal is the natural, normal flow of life when we let the love of God flow through us, mirroring the actions of Jesus.

3. Humility, Sharing, and Poise (H3)

Love is not jealous, not braggadocio, and not arrogant. Jealousy is fundamentally a fear—a fear of losing someone or losing loyalty.

• Outside of Self: Agape love is outside of self. It isn’t focused on personal recognition, reward, or what one will receive. Instead, it asks: “God, what is Your will and Your purpose and Your plan?”.
• Inner Satisfaction: Love enables a sense of humility and poise. Because our relationship with God satisfies us, we don’t need external approval or attention to feel complete. Love can stand quietly on the inside, no matter what external chaos occurs.

4. Politeness and Surrendering Rights (H3)

Love does not act unbecomingly; it is polite. Love acts in a well-mannered way, even in private, because we are the sons and daughters of God.

Crucially, love does not seek its own. This means love surrenders its rights. In contrast to the world, which is constantly fighting for, suing over, and demanding rights, Jesus never talked about His rights.

• The Defeat of Lawsuits: Paul rebuked the Corinthians for taking one another to court, calling it a defeat. He asked: “Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?”.
• Focus on Love: Believers, if they belong to God, lay down their rights. The proper response, no matter how others treat us, is to be loving, not defending ourselves or our rights.

5. Quiet Spirit and Unending Forgiveness (H3)

Love is not provoked. It enables us to have an inner quietness that cannot be ruffled by any kind of criticism or accusation. A person who is easily provoked is “wrapped up in ourselves” and focused on self-gratification (“me, me, me”). Love enables us to step out of this natural, touchy state and live on a level beyond it.

Furthermore, love does not take into account a wrong suffered. Love enables and empowers us to forgive, no matter what.

• The Scorekeeper’s Bondage: People who keep score of past wrongs (“last week you did so-and-so, 20 years ago…”) are scorekeepers. An unforgiving spirit leads to bondage and imprisonment because one is saturated in the poison of bitterness, resentment, and hostility.
• God’s Forgiveness: As believers, we have no right to withhold forgiveness from someone whom God has forgiven. Forgiveness is the only way godly people can live.

6. Rejoicing in Truth and Unfailing Nature (H3)

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth. This means love enables us to hate the evil and injustice (sin itself) that hurts others, not the person who is committing the injustice.

• Capacity for Love: Despite atrocious crimes or morally corrupted views, every person God created has the capacity to become something and the capacity to love. God’s love does not skip over the “unlovable” or the despicable.
• God’s Equal Love: God loves every single person equally.
• Unending Love: Love never fails; it is unending. If our response to difficulty, hardship, trial, or abuse is always love, we are still a free man. We do not allow others to imprison us with bitterness, resentment, or anger.