Agapao

The Greeks’ active verb agapao means to give ourselves over to the object of our love; to be totally consumed with and/or totally committed to it.  Whatever we agapao is a big deal.  It is what we put first in our lives and bind to ourselves, what we submit our wills to as the ultimate commitment, and what shapes our identity.

An individual might agapao temporal earthly things.  Position.  A spouse. Career.  An obsession.  Pleasure.  A house.  Family. Money.  A dream. Self. Comfort.  An activity.  Sex. Autonomy.  Food. Friends. Privacy. Stimulating substances. Agendas.

God loves (agapao) us, and calls us to love (agapao) Him by totally turning to Him, surrendering, relinquishing, abandoning self and setting aside what we clutch so feverishly (as mentioned above) so His larger life can manifest and transform us, and then flow forth to affect others.  This is how we discover our truest selves, sample inner peace, and make a difference in our small sectors of the world – even, or perhaps especially, in the midst of turmoil.

I’m thinking about agapao as Christmas approaches.  The Incarnation is a reminder that He took what was ours (self-absorbed preoccupation that distanced us from God) to give us what was His (redemption and adoption as His children). 

Human beings who deny the ultimate gift of Christmas - the person of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us – are adrift on the high seas of self-limitation without an anchor.  Those who agapao Him are held firm and renewed, strengthened, and empowered, day by day and hour by hour, with their eyes set firmly on a promised new earth and a future eternal mansion.

Grant me greater faith this Christmas, Lord.  I want to agapao you more.