Can love be aggressive? Yes it absolutely can and should be.
Aggression is something people typically associate with violence or anger but that limits the meaning of aggression which also includes: moving with a great force, putting great strength behind something, creating great momentum for something, advancing ahead quickly, moving ahead powerfully and without sideways distraction.
The bible says the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing and forceful men lay hold of it, Matthew 11:24. That’s sounds aggressive.
When we love without limitation and love unconditionally, it is an aggressive love that breaks down the defenses people normally erect in their lives and even the ones we keep in our own hearts. The more we love, the more defenses fall down; they cannot stand.
They cannot stand because aggressive love removes the things those defenses normally stand on: pride: arrogant spiritual pride, pride of opinion; bitterness, hurt, unforgiveness, insecurities and other fears, self-centeredness, selfishness, self-entitlement. By loving the way God wants us to love, aggressively, we lose the need for our own self-preservation. We see other people as vitally important to God and so, we easily put others first.
Aggressive love gets people’s attention. It’s a love the causes blind eyes to see and deaf ears to hear the message of Jesus. It’s a love that breaks shame and guilt off people because God is love, 1John 4:8. When we love to others, we are showing them Jesus.
Jesus said, Love one another…as I have loved you…by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, John, 13:34-35.
When we can lift others, encourage others, prefer others well-being over our own, always forgiving, never taking offense, submitting to, and honoring others–even at our own inconvenience or personal cost–we show God’s love is at work in our hearts.
This is an aggressive love that spills out to the lives of the people around us and they will be changed by it.
Aggressive love often requires laying down our life for someone else. Laying down our needs and comfort, laying down our pride, our right-to-be-right, and pursuing instead, healthy relationships and unity because we place others first.
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters, 1John 3:18.
When we love aggressively we will not keep quiet about Jesus. We simply cannot. We will with total freedom and indifference to consequence, speak boldly of our faith in Jesus, Philippians 2:14 (APM) because we know people need to know Him. We are not afraid to tell them because there is no fear in love…perfect love drives out fear, 1John 4:18.
Our faith in God is expressed by our love (for people), Galatians 5:6.
Small love for people… Small faith in God… Small love for God… Small life!
BIG aggressive love for people… BIG faith that moves mountains… BIG love for God …BIG trust in Him…a great BIG life spent forcefully, aggressively, advancing the Kingdom.
