Love Above All — Part One

From Chris Price

JULY 9, 2026

“Over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:14

The word translated as love is the Greek word agape. I used to say that agape is not a feeling, first.
Which is true.

Instead, it’s an action that seeks the ultimate good of another person.
Not just their temporal good, but their eternal good in relationship with God.
Still true.
But through interacting with the work of philosopher Josef Pieper, I realized that, more foundationally, love is to act toward another person as though it is “very good” that they exist.

Love chooses to see creation the way God sees it; as fundamentally good.
Fallen, yes.
But fundamentally good.
And, ultimately, redeemable.

To love you is to bear witness to the fact that it is good that you are here.
Apart from your gifts, apart from your education, apart from your talents & skills, love is to agree with God in the beginning—it is good that you are here.

If I love someone solely based on their cleverness or appearance or physical prowess or usefulness…
Aging and illness might slowly erode the reasons for my love.
Age and illness will kill love, rather than deepen it.
It is not that we don’t love that someone is smart, or attractive, or talented.
Those attributes are lovely.
They are good gifts from God.
They are worth being cultivated and celebrated.
But agape is to be given based on existence first and attributes second.
Because attributes might fade while agape is eternal.

Our world has put second things first, attributes over existence, and, in the process, forgotten about the essence of love.
It is good that you exist.
Apart from what we offer, even apart from what we suffer, our existence is a gift.
Love says, “I am glad you are on the planet.”
And to love others well, you have to believe this about yourself.

As Saint Augustine wrote, “If you don’t know how to love yourself, how will you be able to love your neighbour in truth?”

We must put our hand over our heart in prayer and say, “It is good that I am here.”
And love is not just affirming someone’s existence, it is affirming the reason for which they were made—union with Christ.
To know Christ and to become like him—to be made new in the image and likeness of Christ.

It is good that I exist.
And I exist for union with Christ.
So love cannot and will not affirm anything that threatens, or grieves, that union.

So love invites repentance.

So love puts sin to death.

And love puts on all these virtues instead.
Love ties all the virtues together.

How so?
Well, if I believe, fundamentally, that your existence is good, I will have compassion on you.
I will be kind.
I will be patient.
I will bear with your brokenness.
I will forgive you because all of these acts are expressions of the belief that “it is good that you are here.”

And, like forgiveness, our love is rooted in His love.

“We love because He first loved us.”

This is part one of the two-part article "Love Above All" by Chris Price.