Jesus is the complete opposite of society's prevailing values, which include falsehood and self-centredness ‑ for He is Truth and Love in person. Therefore, everyone who claims loyalty to Him MUST be committed to these ideals ‑ not just following the truth, but living the truth, reflecting love and acting with love toward one another.

The apostle John had seen Truth and Love at firsthand ‑ he had been with Jesus. He was so affected by all that he had seen and heard that all of his writings, from the Gospel to the book of Revelation, are filled with this theme. Truth and love are vital to the Christian and are inseparable in the Christian life.

What can we say about love? Our world is filled with its words. Popular songs, greeting cards, romantic novels and films, shower us with notions and dreams of ethereal, idyllic relationships and feelings. In fact if poets and songwriters down through the years had been denied the use of the word 'love', many of them would have been lost for a way of expressing their feelings and the world would have been deprived of a great deal of pleasure.

They tell us that, 'Love is a many spendoured thing,' and we shall see later that Paul, although he put it a little differently, completely agreed with this. Andrew Lloyd-Webber says that "Love Changes Everything," which is another thought that the scriptures confirm. And we mustn't leave out Robbie Burns who said "My Love is like a Red, Red Rose, That's newly sprung in June," which is certainly true of Christian Love which blossoms and blooms like the proverbial Rose.

These writers were, of course, talking of the love between a man and a woman, and there's nothing wrong with that, in fact it's beautiful; but now we are going to look at the love that the Bible teaches us that we should have. It is love for one another, for our brethren, our friends, our neighbours, even for our enemies.

We can perhaps best explain that love by looking at the way it was used by Jesus in His interview with "Simon, the son of Jonas," after our Lord's resurrection, and comparing the different words they each used. You will remember that the disciples had been told by Jesus to go to Galilee, and they were there waiting for their Master to give them more instructions. But the waiting was beginning to play on their nerves, and finally we can imagine Peter saying, "I can't stand this waiting any more. I've got to do something. I'm going fishing, is anyone coming with me?" So off they all went, and after being out all night, without catching anything, they were just coming back to land in the early dawn, when Jesus appeared to them. At first they didn't recognise the figure standing on the shore, but when he called out to them to throw out their net once more and they caught one hundred and fifty-three fish, they knew it was their beloved Master. But bringing the boat into shore was a slow process and Peter just could not wait to greet Him again, so he swam ashore.

In the twenty first chapter of his Gospel, John tells us that it was the third time that Jesus had appeared to His disciples since He had been raised from the dead. And in vv 15-17 he says that, after they had all breakfasted together, Jesus pointed to the boats, nets and the other fishing equipment and said to Simon Peter, "'Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?' 'Yes, Lord,' Peter replied, 'you know I love you.' 'Then feed my lambs,' Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' 'Yes, Lord,' Peter said, 'you know I love you,' 'Then take care of my sheep,' Jesus said. 'Once more he asked him, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, 'Lord, you know everything. You know I love you.' Jesus said, 'Then feed my sheep."

Peter had been called by our Lord to be a Fisher of Men. It was to be a part of the harvest work involved in our Heavenly Father's plan of redemption, and now, in a fit of frustration at the inactivity, he had returned instead to try and win a harvest from the sea. It was as if Jesus was saying, Peter, what's more important to you? Do you want to be a part of My Father's plan with Me? Do you want to help Me with the work I've come to do, or do you want to spend the rest of your life fishing in the Sea of Galilee?

When our Lord said, "Do you love Me?" He used the Greek word agapas; but when Peter answered he used the Greek word philo, - both words mean 'I love.' agapas is the word that was used in the first and second questions put by our Lord; but when He asks the question for the third time our Lord used Peter's word philo. The distinction between these two Greek words is described by Trench: who says that agapas carries more the thought of careful judgement and deliberate choice, while philein has more the feeling of attachment and particular personal affection. So the Greek word agapas - Do you love Me? ‑ on the lips of the Lord seemed to Peter at this moment too cold a word, as though his Lord was keeping him at a distance, or at least not inviting him to draw near as, in the passionate yearning of his heart, Peter wanted to do. So he ignored the word used by our Lord and substituted philo, his own stronger and more fervent word for 'I love,' in its place. The second time Jesus asked the question He used the same word, agapas, again. And then, it seems that His perseverance has paid off because, when the Lord asked Peter for a third time whether he loved Him, He uses the only word that will satisfy Peter ‑ phileis - do you love, and which alone expresses, for him, that personal attachment and affection with which he knows that his heart is filled. The Lord was telling Peter, "If you love me, then you must love my sheep and take care of them. I and My sheep ‑ My followers ‑ come as a package, we're inseparable. So, if you love me you must love those that My Father has placed in My care."

Barclay tells us that agape is a word that was rarely used in secular Greek, but which has come to be the Christian word for love and means a love that shows unconquerable benevolence and undefeatable good will. In Matthew 5.45, we can find an example of this in our Heavenly Father; "For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust." which means that however good a person may be, or however bad they are, they can still, if they will, all share in the gifts and benevolence of God. He doesn't just confine His blessings to those who love Him, but he makes them available to the entire world.

Agape love is the spirit that never seeks anything but the other person's good, no matter what that person does. However, it's not something that just happens, without our being able to do anything about it. It's a deliberate act of will by which Christian love makes it possible to show love to someone we don't like and, no matter how we feel emotionally towards them, to seek their good and never hate them. But to make this act of will we must choose to serve rather than being served. When we get to this point of choosing to honour others, - family, friends, brethren and neighbours, - and to serve their interests rather than our own, we're well on the way to Joy, Peace and a Godlike love. And even if our efforts are rejected and unappreciated, we'll be displaying the love that Jesus said that we should show; the love that brings honour and glory to our Heavenly Father.

Now the opposite of agape love is not hatred. It is indifference, and our Lord demonstrated this contrast between love and indifference in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. After the traveller on the Jericho road had been attacked and left for dead, by the thieves who had taken all he had, a Priest and then a Levite came along the road. Both passed by without trying to help the man. Possibly, the Priest was afraid that if he touched the man to help him, and then found that he was dead, he would be ceremonially defiled and so unable to serve in the Temple, while the Levite appears to have put his own safety before the suffering of another. They didn't know the victim; they both displayed an attitude of complete indifference to his sufferings and just thought first of their own desires, feelings and safety. However the Samaritan, who came along a little later, showed that agape love by stopping to care for the man despite the possible danger that the man wasn't injured at all but was merely a decoy to get a passer-by to stop so that the thieves could rob him. Although the injured man was the author of his own misfortune, by travelling such a dangerous road alone, the Samaritan helped the man, regardless of his race or creed, and without considering the cost.

Our Lord told this story, which is recounted in Luke 10, to answer a question which had been put to Him by an expert on the religious Law in an effort to trap Him into a damaging statement. In vv 25-27 we're told that the lawyer had asked, "Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?" To which Jesus had replied, "'What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?' The man answered, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind, and Love your neighbour as yourself.'"

Up to that time, men had been trying to 'work their passage' into heaven, by keeping the Ten Commandments and the Mosaic Laws ‑ plus the thousand and one other laws they had manufactured out of them. But Jesus, with this answer was saying in effect; "That way is very hard and I know it's impossible for you to keep.

My Father gave you the Law, not only to outline for you the ethics of a good life, but also to show you that you cannot save yourselves by your own efforts, you need a redeemer." He was saying; "If only you would listen to Me, I'm giving you a much easier way. If only you will do just this one thing, you will do all these thousand and one other laws without even thinking, because if you love, you will unconsciously fulfil the whole law.

If we just think about it for a minute, we can see how that is so. Take any of the Ten commandments and you can see how this works. Look at the first four: If we truly love God, we won't worship any other god or make idols for worship, we just wouldn't want to. Neither would we take His name in vain, and we would always be glad to keep at least one day in the week for Him as the Sabbath ‑ and most of us keep at least a part of every day for Him. Then, if we truly love our fellow man, we won't kill him, or steal from him or covet what he has, or any of the other six. Just by that one simple action of loving we keep all ten. So, to our Lord, love is the most important thing of all. First, love shown to God and then Love for our neighbour, the person we may not even know, but with whom we might in some way come into contact.

There have been two really great examples of love. The first was shown after Adam and Eve had sinned by succumbing to the lies and temptations of the devil, and eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In His foreknowledge the Heavenly Father had already planned for this. He carried out His promise that because of their sin, they and their posterity would die. He also promised that in due time he would send a redeemer who would conquer the devil and all evil, and in so doing, make it possible for all mankind to have everlasting life.

This redeemer was, of course, our Lord Jesus, who came to give us the good news about God. Until then, men had always looked on God as a rather formidable King and Judge, who could never be approached, but was to be feared because He was always ready with a 'big stick' to punish our slightest mistake. But our Lord taught that God was a loving Father to all of us and that He was just waiting and yearning for our love, in the same way that an earthly father yearns for the love of a wayward child. He taught that our Heavenly Father needn't be feared and set apart, but that He could be approached like a friend that we know and love. He is a compassionate Father, to whom we can turn in our times of trouble. He is Father who will help us, guide us, and never let us down or condemn us. That, even if we turn away from Him, He will still love us and will anxiously watch for us to return to Him: then, when we do turn towards Him again, He will hurry to meet us and welcome us with open arms.

It's said that God despises the sin but that He loves the sinner and that is true, but it doesn't mean that because He loves the sinner we can keep on doing wrong. It means that the moment that we change from our sinful ways, God is there to guide us, to help and support us. As our Lord taught, the Heavenly Father loves every one of His creation and just longs for the day when every one of them will "Forsake their foolish ways" and honour and obey Him.

John tells us that our Lord said, "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow. I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it — the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends." (John 15 :9-13)

Jesus went on to prove that this wasn't just a piece of teacher's rhetoric. He actually demonstrated the love He had for every one of us by making the supreme sacrifice and laying down His life, not just for his friends, but for all mankind. Greater love can no one show than that.

In their distress and despair at the death of their beloved Master, especially in such a terrible way, they forgot what He had repeatedly told them. As Matthew records, "From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that he had to go to Jerusalem, and he told them what would happen to him there. He would suffer at the hands of the leaders and the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, and he would be raised on the third day" (Matthew 16:21).

This word 'must' is one of the great imperatives of the Bible. Our Lord had to die in order to fulfil the first part of the Father's plan for the redemption of mankind. And He had to be raised again on the third day to complete the work.

The disciples probably thought at the time, that Jesus was telling them some mysterious parable whose meaning would be revealed to them later on. And in our hours of dejection and desperation, when we can't see the hand of God, or feel His presence at our side, it is so easy to forget the things we've been told, just as they did. We fail to remember that our loving Heavenly Father never stops loving us and that it's at times like these that our faith and our trust in Him should shine through.

Luke says that, even as they nailed Him to the cross, Jesus said, "Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). It's just as if our Lord was saying, "It doesn't matter what you do to Me, I'll always love you, and forgive you. In Jesus, we can see what God is like, so in this prayer we can see that there's no limit to the love, the grace, or the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father.

Then, as if to show men how futile their efforts were when they tried to eliminate Him and His work of salvation, He rose again on the third day just as was prophesied, victorious over every one of these terrible acts and in the end conquering even death. It was, in fact, not the crucifixion of Christ that was preached by the early Christians but the risen Christ. They never preached to anyone without insisting on the fact of the resurrection. For instance, Luke tells us that when Peter and John had healed the beggar outside the Temple gate called Beautiful, the astonished onlookers came rushing up to them, awed by the miracle and probably asking all sorts of questions. This was Peter's opportunity and he addressed the crowd, "'People of Israel' he said, 'what is so astounding about this? And why look at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power and godliness? For it is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God of all our ancestors who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate's decision to release him. You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. You killed the author of life, but God raised him to life. And we are witnesses of this fact!" (Acts 3:12-15).

Once the disciples were convinced that Jesus had 'Burst the bonds of death,' and had actually come out of the grave alive, it put such a new meaning into their lives that nothing else seemed worthwhile. They were convinced that a message that stopped at the cross had left out the most important fact of all; the fact that Jesus had risen again and so conquered death for everyone.

They knew that the resurrection was a FACT, and they went up and down the highways of the Roman Empire telling the story of Jesus with such earnestness and sincerity that countless thousands believed in it; so much so that they were even prepared to die for their belief.

This fact of the resurrection is an even more important point today. It's right that we remember that Jesus died for us on the cross, just as we should also remember all the degradation and suffering He endured for our sakes. But it's much more important for us to rejoice over the fact that, having shown so great a love by laying down His life for us, His friends, He rose again and so made it possible that, when the time comes, we also shall be able to rise again.

Jesus finished His course at the cross, but that's where we begin ours. Before the events of the cross we were dead in sin, but since the cross, as Paul tells the Romans in 6.11, we are, "Dead to sin, but alive in Christ Jesus." Our Heavenly Father showed His love to all mankind in making His plan of salvation. He showed it too when our Lord Jesus, His Son carried out His Father's wishes, even to the extent of dying on the cross. Therefore death is no longer a prison from which there can be no escape, but is just, "a little sleep, a little folding of the hands to rest." From this we'll arise, to be a part of His Bride, His Church, and everyone else, to a full and fair opportunity to obtain everlasting life.

(to be continued)