“I love…”
What just popped into your head? Your favorite food? Your favorite music group? Coffee? That place you went on vacation that you dream of returning to? The beach? Your favorite color? A video game? Ice cream? A family member? A book series? Your favorite sports team?
We use the word “love” to describe a variety of different thoughts and feelings. We describe our affection for both a snack and someone dear to us with the same word. Merriam-Webster has four possible definitions for the verb “love.” To hold dear, cherish; to feel a lover’s passion, devotion, or tenderness for; to like or desire actively, take pleasure in; to thrive in.
Koine Greek (the common dialect in Jesus’ time) has four different words for our one English word “love.”
- Storge is affection, fondness through familiarity, especially between family members or people who have otherwise found themselves together by chance.
- Phileo is the love between friends.
- Eros is love in the sense of ‘being in love’ or loving me.
- Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.
In 1 John 4, you will see a couple times that “God is love.” Which Greek love do you think John used? Agape. God is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love. What the world considers love is selfish and self-centered, but all true love is from God. God’s love for us was revealed fully to us in the gift of His Son, who became the atoning sacrifice for our sins. It is this unconditional love that we hear about in sermons and learn more about in bible study.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are…” 1 John 3:1a
Despite all of our selfishness and sinfulness, God loves us so much that through Baptism He has called us His own children. That is the kind of love that my mind cannot fully wrap itself around. It is a kind of love that makes my love for coffee look incredibly weak. It is a kind of love that we don’t want to keep to ourselves, but share. It is because of this love that we are able to love one another.
My challenge to you is to love one another. Think of ways that you can show love to your loved ones, your friends, your classmates, your neighbors, maybe even a stranger. Be as simple or as extravagant as you want. God showed His agape to us through Jesus—now go, do, and pass the good news of God’s selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love onto others.
Blessings and Love in Christ,
Deaconess Amanda
