Love is a verb!

How many times have police officers gone to a home for a domestic violence call and been told, “I don’t love him anymore, I want a divorce.” How many fellow officers do you know who have said the same thing about their spouse? We approach love as if it is emotion that we cannot control. If love is uncontrollable, unpredictable, and based upon our emotional whims we are in serious trouble when we are instructed by God to love others. So what is love? Is it an emotion or an action? This is what we will explore in this posting.




Over the last month, you were challenged to love those you contact on the street and/or arrest. This challenge includes trying to love those who commit the most heinous crimes - murder, sexual assault, child rape, etc. This was a difficult challange! The natural question arises, “How can I love someone who (fill in the blank)?” A good friend of mine works in the crimes against children unit investigating serious sexual assaults and child deaths. He asks, “How can I love those guys who intentionally hurt kids? They are terrible people who deserve the most severe punishment.” I agree with his last sentiment, they do deserve severe punishment and the child deserves justice. As a Christian we must remember God is the ultimate judge and His judgment and punishment are perfect. Jesus commanded us to love others and thus we must do.

We must realize that whether we are talking about loving our spouse or loving a criminal we are NOT talking about a feeling. Love is not a feeling steered by the tide of our emotions. We have previously mentioned Jesus’ two most important commands 1) to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; 2) to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30, 31). The Greek word used for love in this passage is agapao. Agapao “indicates a direction of the will and finding one’s joy in something.”[1] It is an imperative command given by the Lord Jesus Christ to love others. Biblical love is an exercise, an effort, a decision of your will that you demonstrate to those you love.

I want to address an objection that may come forward at this point. Jesus said love your neighbors. Did He literally mean only our neighbors? When He was teaching His disciples He also taught, “I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?”(Matt 5:44-46) Again, the word for love is apagao written in a verbal form that indicates it is continuous ongoing command.[2] Jesus is commanding us, “Always love your enemies” and promises that for doing so we will be rewarded. (c.f. 1 Pet 2:18-21)

The Koine Greek language of the New Testament uses several different Greek words that are often translated in English as love. In order to understand what Jesus is commanding, and how to exercise it, I want to contrast agapao against the Greek word phileo which is also commonly translated as love. To help demonstrate the difference between the two words, I am depending on Zodiates’[3] work. He says, “Simply stated, to love (agapao) fellow humans means to see or discern what their need is and to meet that need, not according to the object’s concept of need, but that of the one who loves. It is in this concept that the saying of Christ in Matt 5:44, “love [agapate] your enemies,” can be understood. For a believer, his enemies are his enemies because they are not believers. What he sees is their need of faith and he must do everything that he can do to meet that need in the their lives in whatever manner. Believers are never told to love their enemies with the word phileo because that would mean to have the same interest as they.” In short, Jesus is not commanding you to love your enemies (in our law enforcement context the unbelieving rapist, murderer, thief, and dope addict) like you would your best friend because you do not want the same interests as thieves, murderers, and rapists. However, you MUST consciously make a decision to love them with all your will in order to meet serve them by meeting their needs, especially their need of salvation.

What does agapao love look like? We know that loving our enemies is a command from God. We know that it involves directing our will. We know we are to love them beyond friendship and companionship but we must love them in a way that seeks to fulfill their greatest need leading them to salvation. Your agapao is demonstrated by serving others. Here is what Jesus says agapao looks like:

• Luke 6:27-31
  "But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
• John 13:34-35
  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
• Please read Matthew 25:31-46. In this passage, Jesus explains he will return and honor those who fed and clothed Him when He was hungry and naked, cared for Him when sick, and visited Him in prison. He said anyone who did these things for the “least of these My brethren did it for Me.” Those who ignored serving Him were condemned.
• Matt 20:26-28
  …Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
• Matt 23:11-12
  But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

In the Book of James, James commands us to be “doers of the word.” (James 1:22) We are doers of the word when we agapao others as a servant seeking to other people’s needs especially by leading others to salvation. This is very different from the love proclaimed in the world. In the philosophy of the world, love means accepting everyone's behavior, not judging others, and permitting all activities. In other words, love according to the world's standards is to ingore sin and ignore God's wrath and judgment. Jesus' agapao is very different. He never ignored sin and preached of God's judgment, wrath, and hell. See What is next? Is there life after death?
What does being a "doer of the word" look like? Here are some suggestions how you can deliberatly start agapao those you serve/arrest. Let me be clear, all of these things can be done without compromising your own safety.

1. Pray before, during, and after you go off shift.
2. Remember Paul's words that though you are saved by grace you were once a sinner (1 Cor 6). Those you contact are in the same situation - either they are a sinner, or saved by grace. You have no right to be self righteous behind the badge.
3. When someone offends you by calling you names or refusing to obey orders do not take it personally knowing Christ too was verbally and physically beaten.
4. Pray for the offenders you have in custody.
5. Seek the Holy Spirit about how you might demonstrate and show the arrestee that Christ died for them. For example, can you give him/her a drink of water; speak to them politely and show them respect.
6. Have you ever been nice to someone, showed love to another, only to have it thrown back in your face? Do not take offense, remember Christ died for us while we were still sinners and yet people still use salvation as license to sin and throw it back in His face. You do not have a right to be offended when you are persecuted for His name. Rejoice when your service to Christ results in tribulation (Acts 5:41).
7. Consistent with our job, can you can/should confront them with their offense (sin) - no one can be saved from the wrath of God if they do not realize they violated His commands and facing His judgment.
8. Your Christian faith can be one more "tool" on your belt. Use your faith, your knowlege of Christ and His redeeming work in your job as you council families and individuals.

Many people will have us believe that when we put on the uniform we must no longer be a Christian. We ask this of no other person joining law enforcement. That would be the same as asking a female to stop being a female, to not use her unique experiences as a woman to give advice to someone. Remember, as a Christian you have the only message of true hope in this dark world. As Jesus taught, do not put your light, the message of salvation, under a bowl. Let it shine for all to see as a city on a hill. (Matt 5:14)
I want to close this with a warning to my brothers and sisters. We are living in perilous times where many of the citizens we have sworn to protect are loosing hope, abusing drugs and alcohol, abusing others as our violent crime rate grows. In Matthew 24 Jesus warned us of these times as anticipation of His return. He gave us a warning and a promise of hope, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Matt 24:12-13)

Guard your hearts brothers and sisters so that your love does not grow cold against others, especially those you police. Let your love for others grow. Make a conscious decision to direct your will to agapao those you arrest. If you do these things and endure to the end you will have fellowship with God the Father in the end.

My prayer for you law enforcement officers is that as you police your community, as I police mine, we will see the citizens through the eyes of Jesus, identify their greatest need for salvation and lead them to Him. Amen.
[1] Lexical Aids to the New Testament. Editor Zodiates, Spiros. In The Complete Word Study New Testament. AMG Publishers. 1992. pg. 876.[2] Ibid, pg. 16, 867.[3] Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary. AMG Publishers. 1992. pg. 65-66, 1445.