LOVE EXPLAINED

As we continue to grow in the body of Christ one of the main things that we are called to do is love one another and treat EVERYONE how we would like to be treated. We all know that there are many different kinds of love and different ways to show love but out of the 8 types lets talk about 4: STORGE, EROS, PHILIA, & AGAPE.

STORGE

   This type of love is one that we experience when we are initially created in the earthly realm. This is identified as family love. The kind of love that a mother has for a child ie Noah's love for his son Jacob or Martha and Mary had for Lazarus their brother. Romans 12:10 commands that we "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love..." Storge is also described as having a deep connections or compassionate love which can be geared toward pets, friends, and even lovers that start out as friends and end up in love and beginning an intimate relationship is included under this umbrella of love. 

EROS

    Derived from the word we commonly know as, 'erotic' or 'erotica" Eros, is the parent or root of the two terms. Eros is used to describe a passionate and sensual kind of love between a man and a woman. This love is the road that leads you to becoming one with someone that you love. In this love you are supposed to be learning how to love someone else in a romantic and selfless way that will hopefully create a bond that leads to marriage. This love is optional as Paul goes into detail of the positive and negative in 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 which states, "I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. 9But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn." And what Paul is saying here is that we are human and there are desires and lust that we endure which may lead to sin. While lusting is a sin, that lust can lead us down the road of fornication and we know that fornication is a sin and most importantly a sin against your body. And having had discussions on why this sin is so important is because  of 1 Corinthians 6:18-14 which states "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

In other words God has a price on each one of our heads whether we acknowledge it or not, and our bodies or His and should be dedicated to Him and therefore we should not do anything to defile our bodies because they are supposed to be used as the temple for the Holy Ghost and not for our own earthly pleasures.

PHILIA

   Is looked at as a form of intimate love as well, but this kind of love is usually geared more toward Christians. This is a form of love that ones has with Sisters and Brothers in the church and beyond that is based on and generated from like-mindedness and Christian belief. As the Bible let's us know that in John 12:25 that... "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." This love is a general type of love within the scriptures encompassing love for our fellow man, respect, compassion, trust and feelings that is able to unite us as one under Christianity, by way of Jesus Christ. Some also sees this love as an experienced-based love that draws us close as followers of the Lord.

AGAPE

   FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLED THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE (JOHN 3:16)

   This explains everything we need to know about Agape love. this is the love of God and this verse conveys just how much He loves us and loved us before we even began life. It's immeasurable, God's love is incomparable and perfect as He Himself is! This sacrificial love is so pure that unexplainable, because there seems to be no words to say that one would relay just what this love entails. But I don't know where would we be without it. We could talk about the love of God all day long and what He has done for us individually and others we know, however, it is who God is and there is no explanation needed!! One would have to fully gain a personal true and loving relationship with the Lord to fathom what this love is all about.

SUMMARY:

       Love is not just an expression or emotion. Love is a state of being. It is only when one allows the Lord to guide them through the Holy Spirit can love transform and grow into something more.

The most common form of love is expressed as a condition towards another person that is a partner, family or friend. But, the highest form of love is not conditional. There is no conscious decision to apply it, it just is. Like the love that our Lord has for us, even when we fall short. A state of love that it empowers in lifting up and never giving up; it is so powerful that He wants us to know it. A love for other people and living things that permeates into ways of thinking, dealing with others and moving about the world. Being in a state of unconditional love is not a sign of weakness but power. Achieving an unconditional state of love is not easy, it is a journey. A journey that is well worth it in bringing peace, balance and understanding.We may fall short on our journeys but what is most important is that we are consistently striving to be in an exceptional state of love.

                                      - Shanel S.

John 13:34 , "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." This is not a choice and something we have to do to make it to the Kingdom of Heaven!