Agape
agapē (Greek)
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Self-giving love that acts for the good of another regardless of what it receives back.
Agape is the Greek word the New Testament uses for love that is chosen rather than felt. It is the love described in 1 Corinthians 13 as patient and kind, and the love John uses when he writes that God is love.
The practical weight of agape is that it is a decision. It does not depend on the other person deserving it, and it does not stop when the feeling does. Most of the commands about love in the New Testament use this word, which is why they can be commanded at all.
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