16 “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:16 AMP
Everyone is looking for love, and in a society that has countless interpretations of what love is we are still no better off than we were before. What is love? That’s a question that many people ask themselves, and some endure deep heartache on their journey to find love. I believe that in order to define what love is, and experience what it was meant to be, we must return to the originator/creator of love which is God. In the next few posts I will explore the four main forms of love that are expressed in the Bible. To be specific, the Bible has been written in various languages, but I’ll be focusing on the forms of love included in the Bible translated from the Greek. Below I’ll give a quick snapshot of the Greek forms of love that we’ll further explore in the next few posts.
- Eros – physical, sexual, and sensual intimacy between a man and woman. We will explore how this form of love, though in human concept is the last front of love to be explored (this has biblical basis), it is actually the foundational form of love between God and his children. Not in the aspect of physical/sexual love, but rather intimacy.
- Storge – familial bond amongst relatives. This is sometimes clearly seen between parents and children, or between siblings. Storge love though strong, can sometimes be transactional, but we’ll look at Storge love as it relates to God to his children (us).
- Phileo – brotherly love shared amongst people with no romantic or familial association/bond. There are several examples of phileo love, in addition to directives that call us to phileo love.
- Agape – selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional love. This is the ultimate form of love that God shows for us, and the highest calling to love that we as Christians are to reflect in the world. We will explore 1st how God displayed Agape love in scripture, and the way that we can live out Agape love in our everyday lives.
Reflection Time
Does real love seem elusive to you? I’m personally on a journey to discover what true love in the 4 forms mentioned looks like and is displayed in my everyday life. I’ve struggled personally to effectively love my wife and others as God has called me to, and as they deserve. I pray that as we journey through these posts, that God will convict my heart as well as each of yours to reflect his heart.
