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Feb
28
Written by:
Landa Lew
2/28/2009 11:12 PM
February - the month of love. And naturally, associated with that Valentine kind of love is romantic love, aka Eros love. Eros love is drawn by feelings and attractions. To express this type of love many people use tangible tokens of romantic dinners, red roses, candies, etc., and even deeds to show someone they love them.
But for me this February, a second kind of love took center stage. Philia, or Philos love filled my heart with appreciation and gratitude. Philos love is a friendship/platonic type of love of mutual caring relationships. I care for you because you care for me. This was especially evident when I hurt my back and leg and was in such painful agony I could barely walk or sleep for a week. My family displayed their love by doing what they could to make my painful state more bearable, just as I would care for them if they needed me to. And for these gestures of Philos love, I will cherish, especially at a time when I needed Philos love the most.
But there is a third type of love that perhaps not many people think of right away, especially on Valentine's Day, and that is Agape love. This is the best type of love. It's a "no matter what, I will love you" kind of love and for who you are, regardless of your circumstances, deeds, attitudes, behavior, appearance, past offenses, etc. Nothing is expected in return nor does it matter how the giver is treated, love is still given. This type of love is most typically associated with God's perfect love for all of us. It's a type of love that Christians (and some non-Christians) strive to extend to others as a result of the love God has revealed to them and have placed in their hearts. And with agape love, received or offered, our lives will be uplifted. God showed His most sacrificial agape love for us by sending His Son to die on the cross, so that we, regardless of how sinful we may be, can have an opportunity to avoid eternal suffering after death, but live eternally with Him if we believe He did this deed for us and turn from our bad ways. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16). As one can well imagine, this is the most difficult type of love to extend in some cases, especially if we have been wronged. But in order for this type of love to be successful, hate needs to be eliminated from our hearts, and forgiveness replaced. But we do have the ability to make a difference in another person's life, as well as be blessed by agape love. So there you have it, the love that will last is God's agape love for us because it will last for eternity for those who accept it.
I hope your Valentine's Day, whichever type of love you experienced, was a type of love that lifted your spirits and filled your heart with joy.
Landa Lew, Coordinator
College and Career Fellowship
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2 comment(s) so far...
Thanks for sharing about the different types of love, Landa, and reminding us of God's perfect love for us. Your paragraph on agape love reminded me of our church's young adult group from years past called the Agape Fellowship group. Hopefully our church's new College & Career Fellowship can effectively meet the needs of today's young adults. This blog is one way of reaching out to our young adults. Thanks again, Landa
By Michael Wong on
3/9/2009 7:57 PM
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Thank you for your comment Michael. Yes, I recently learned there was once a young adults group named Agape. I was very excited over the news. It indicates to me that at one time there was a thriving fellowship for this age group. And yes, I also hope we can meet the needs of a new and changing generation. I pray our agape love will lead YAs to our fellowship group.
By Landa Lew on
3/9/2009 8:47 PM
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