AGAPE

Hi, my name is Calum Klesel and I am currently a student at Concordia University Texas and am studying to be a missionary. My major is called, "Director of Christian Education specializing in Missional Emergent" ; it has a big fancy name, but it basically means that I'm studying to work in a Church setting as a missionary and serve whoever God calls me to serve. My goal with this blog is basically going to be a journal of all my journeys as a student/missionary in training at Concordia. I will record my struggles and my strengths, my triumphs and my failures, and most of all try to encourage others to share God’s unfailing love through the things that I share. My hope is to demonstrate what it is like to be someone who genuinely loves their God and wants to follow their call to ministry.

I am in no way perfect or even anywhere close to being what I would call a “good follower of Christ,” however I do try to follow Jesus as closely as possible and I do try to listen to and do what he calls me to do. Nevertheless, I still fail at doing everything the way He wants me to every single day. I don’t want to seem like I am claiming to be some wonderful and great Christian, because I am not. I am just someone who knows their call and wants to try their best to please their God. Please notice that I wrote “wants to try their best” in the previous sentence, that is because I want to try my best, but often times I find myself not trying as hard I could. I could be doing so much better, but that’s the struggle and by the grace of God I am allowed a second chance a thousand times over.

This is my girlfriend, Bee. She has an amazing blog that can
be found here. Please check it out. It is amazing and is all
about God's love for us.

Now that you know somewhat who I am and what I want to accomplish through this blog I want to explain why I called it “AGAPE : God’s Love Demonstrated.” Agape (pronounced: “uh-gop-aye”) is the Greek word for “love” in the New Testament. However, agape love is very different from the love that is normally meant when you tell someone that you love them. That type of love is a love between humans; whether they are in a romantic loving relationship or a friendly loving relationship agape love is not what they share.  Agape is the word used for God’s love for us. Agape love is from and of God because God is love. (1 John 4:8) Agape refers to God’s unfailing and unconditional love for us. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. 

This is from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and very accurately explains how God loves his people and the very nature of God himself.  God will never judge you, He will never forget your name, He will never get fed up with you and how many times you fail, He will never be annoyed by you, and most of all He will never fail you, ever. Because his love is perfect and lasts forever. “Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever” Psalm 136:26. This type of love, agape love, is the way in which God wants me and all of his followers to love all people on this earth.  Right from Jesus’ mouth he said, “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” John 13:34-35. And that is exactly what my goal is through missions. I want to just be a beacon of God’s love. I want try my absolute best to demonstrate the love that God gives me to everyone I come in contact with throughout my entire life, and through this hopefully plant seeds in people’s lives that God would use to reveal himself to them.

Thank you for reading and I hope and pray that you are encouraged and find faith, hope, and, most of all, love.