Tuesday, February 14, 2023
Today is Valentine’s Day, so let’s talk a little bit about love and how we express it. There are four basic types of love:
- Eros—an erotic, passionate love, like a husband and wife might share.
- Philia—the love of friends and equals, like other family members.
- Storge—the love that parents have for their children.
- Agape—unconditional love, like God has for mankind.
When looking at these, I realized that as a follower of Jesus, all four types can, and probably should, be unconditional. Yet each is expressed in a very different way.
Valentine’s Day is one opportunity we have to express our romantic love and passion for our spouse or significant other. Now I am not the most romantic guy on the planet, but I have had my moments. For our first Valentine’s Day back when my wife and I were dating, I bought a dozen roses and attached a different reason why I love her to each one. Ahead of time, I laid the roses along one of our favorite paths. Later, during our walk, she discovered and read them as we went along. I believe my thoughtfulness and effort went a long way in letting her know how I felt.
Romance often begins as an eros type of love but eventually expands to include philia as the relationship develops into something more. Storge is considered the most natural of all loves and, having five children of my own, I can easily see why. It is just natural to love them unconditionally, even when they frustrate you to no end at times.
This brings me to the focal point of this writing, agape: the love God has for all mankind.
John 3:16
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
While Jesus walked this earth, he exemplified unconditional love for everyone—to the point of suffering an agonizing death to save us from our sins. To me, this is love beyond all comprehension. I could not imagine sacrificing any of my children for someone else’s benefit. But God did.
We have not done, and could not do, anything to deserve this type of love, yet he gives it freely and unconditionally. All we need to do is believe and accept it. Which brings me to my bottom line:
The unconditional love of Jesus builds hope that lasts beyond a lifetime.
Questions:
How does God’s agape love make you feel?
Do you attempt to show unconditional love for others in your daily life?
Next Steps:
Take a self examination of how you display love for others.
Join us next weekend as we kick off our new series, Promises, Promises.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I am in awe of your unconditional love for me. I know I don’t deserve it and can never earn it, so I am so thankful and humbled that you give it freely. Help me to demonstrate and share this kind of love to others while I am here on this earth. Guide me in ways to teach others how much you love them. In Jesus’ name, amen.
This post was written by Ned Miller. Ned loves serving through writing on the LIO team, prayer team, group leader and as a greeter. He loves spending time with his family and working on his model railroad.