Agape

Anders Breivik walked into a room full of teenagers in Oslo last week and opened fire, killing many. He saw this as necessary. New York recently legalized gay marriage. They saw this as necessary.

A columnist for the New Yorker blogged about these two incidents last Sunday, drawing the conclusion that both the shootings in Oslo and gay marriage in New York point us to what love truly is, citing Martin Luther King Jr.'s writings on non-violence and the three Greek words for love. Needless to say, I had a major problem of her view on agape.

The columnist describes love as an affectionate community. America is the most individualistic society in the entire world. It is nigh impossible to look at the legalization of gay marriage in New York (triumph to many) and conclude that Americans -and humanity at large- know anything of living in community with affection toward our neighbor. Its easy to isolate one incident and make a sweeping generalization, but I can do the same with many more examples of hate and individualism in the world. The conclusion she comes to that agape was seen amid the shooting is reaching at best. If agape is just the "greater good," how can we deem anything good at all? Breivik saw the greater good as killing teenagers to send a political message for the betterment of society. New York legislators decided that the legalization of gay marriage was for the greater good.

Does love win if temporary satisfaction is gained? Or does true agape surpass our understanding. True love rips the blinders from our eyes, picks us out of the mire, and directs us toward Love Himself. Now if agape doesn't characterize my life after I've been shown such a grace, I am a fraud. If we as mere humans act in such a way as the German tourist in this story, it is a gift of grace and a reflection of God in humanity. The world sees acts of kindness and attributes it to the theory that humans are basically good, but it is impossible to explain evil in this world with the theory of humanity that we are basically good.

"No one is good, no not one..." This isn't just some pessimistic statement from an embittered Paul. No - these words are directly followed by "no one seeks after God." Seeking after God is good, and fallen man does not seek after God. Where is love here? Love cannot exist without the reality of the absence of "goodness" in men. The love of God slaughtered His Son so our unrighteousness can be called righteousness. "Affection" is merely the mud under our feet when compared to this love.

The saints are being transformed into the likeness of Christ. Loving the Lord is obeying His commands, and the reflection of this love to our neighbor is agape. Gracious agape.