I must take a moment to brag on my husband. He was given a tiny budget to spend on me for Valentine's Day due to some house expenses that have come up and fun plans ahead we're saving for. Instead of sticking to the budget, he sacrificed some of his Christmas money in order to buy me a lovely necklace. He's the best husband in the world!!!
With Monday being Valentine's Day, I thought it fitting to write about love. It's such a large word, with enormous meaning and yet only four letters. One of my favorite quotes come from The Five Love Languages:
"Love is the most important word in the English language--and the most confusing." Another favorite quote of mine comes from Moulin Rouge: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."
But which love am I talking about? There are several types of love, and many languages are smart enough to distinguish them while we English-speaking folk clump all meanings into one word: love. The Greeks had four words: Eros, Storge, Philia, and Agape. Very sensible, don't you think? Eros is the sexual attraction we feel; the kind of love that sells toothpaste =). Storge is the way I feel for my mother and father. Philia is the love I feel for a child who's crying and lost, more commonly called brotherly love. Agape is that perfect and unconditional love that one cannot feel without God. It's the one talked about in scripture. It's the love 1 Corinthians 13 is about. Agape is patient, Agape is kind... When Jesus spoke of the two greatest commands in Matthew 22, to love God and to love others, he used the agape type of love. When John wrote, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)," he used the agape type of love. These verses tell us 3 vital things about agape: how we express it, we can't truly express it without knowing God, and we are commanded to express it.
We have all the tools, but in the end, love is easier said than done. We are imperfect people commanded to love perfectly. Anytime we sin, it comes down to a love issue. We simply fail to love. It's hard to swallow. As I write this I want to scream, "But I do love my husband. I do love God. I do, I do, I do!" Well, actions speak louder than words because agape is all about actions. Every time I hurt my spouse or my friends or my mom or dad or God, I do not love them at that moment.
What's the key to loving better? Loving God more. Walking in the Spirit daily. We need God to love with the love only God has. The more we empty ourselves and allow God to fill us, the more we can "love and be loved in return."
I Could Sing of Your Love Forever
have you read The Four Loves by C.S.Lewis?
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking about that book a lot lately... it has so many interesting thoughts in it. his four loves are Affection, Friendship, Eros, and Charity, which sort of correlate with the Greek words. the chapter on Friendship is my favourite. his perspective on it is pretty cool, I think.