· Eros – sexual love based on the pursuit of beauty and pleasure
· Ludis – love as a game, something to pass time
· Storge – love found in most friendships, siblings and family members
· Mania – obsessive love driven by mutual needs
· Pragma – love based on mutual benefits
· Agape – selfless love based on giving yourself for others
When we discussed each type, our class came to the conclusion that there is no IDEAL love and they also could not match which love is the love a married couple should have.
I couldn't help but get excited and wanted to share "No, guys, there IS an ideal love" and "This ideal love is the KIND of love spouses should have for each other!!" It's agape. (Unfortunately, my professor did not call on me when I raised my hand and she moved on to the next slide)
So what is agape love?
"THIS IS HOW WE KNOW WHAT LOVE IS: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." 1 John 3:16
If you read all in 1 John, you see how we are created by, through, and for LOVE. It's the selfless kind of love... Jesus laid down his life for us. Now our purpose is to do the same. John 15:13 says "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." What a powerful statement. I don't know about you but it causes me to evaluate my life and see how much I love my friends... Would I really die for them? Would I take the bullet in order to save them? When I answer these questions to myself... I realize I have a lot of work to do. Lately I have been praying for LOVE. Just love. God has surely been answering this prayer and all of a sudden I am having abundant amounts of love for people that I have never felt before. I also have fallen more in love with Jesus and have obtained more gratefulness in my heart for what He has done for us. Especially for the fact that He constantly intercedes for us to the Father when we pray! How beautiful.
Don't worry... I haven't forgotten to address the marriage-kind-of-love. You may be surprised... but it's the same. Agape. Check out this verse in Ephesians 5:
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her"
That's right. Husbands represent Christ and then wives represent the church. This means that husbands should have selfless love (agape) for their brides. Let's back up at look at the previous verse:
"Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything"
Oh look... more agape love. Wives are submitting to their husbands (being selfless, putting their husbands above them) just as the church (believers in Jesus Christ) should be submitting to their Savior. Agape all over the place!! Agape is the answer, people! We are to always be selfless and put others above ourselves, looking into OTHERS interests before ours. (Phil 2)
What if I told you that the bible holds even more answers than just these? What if I told you that the bible is the direction to life? Don't hold back any longer... pick it up... read it. You will find truth. God will show you. You were CREATED for this stuff! Jesus loves us... with the agape kind of love. I have no choice but to love him right back!
