Church newsletter pastoral column for St. Peter Lutheran Church, Greene, Iowa, for February, 2022.
Biblical Kinds of Love
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.
– 1 John 4:7-8
This month, our culture will celebrate Valentine’s Day, a holiday focused on love. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to know what we mean when we use that word, “Love.” It can have a lot of different meanings! Personally, I love chocolate, I love my dog, I love my job, and I love my wife – but I don’t love all those in the same way!
In Greek, the language of the New Testament, there are multiple words for different types of love, all of which English unhelpfully lumps together into the word “love.” C.S. Lewis, in a book titled The Four Loves, explored some of these words, and it’s helpful to distinguish them as we consider what it means as Christians to talk about God’s love for us and for the world.
The first type of love is Storge love. Storge is a natural affection, a love based on fondness, a family love. When Paul tells the church in Romans 12:10 to “Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor” this is the kind of love he’s talking about. It’s a sort of baseline appreciation for one another as people created by God.
A related but more intense form of love is Philia love, the bond of friendship. (This is the word from which the city of Philadelphia—the city of “brotherly love”—gets its name.) Often, this is the word used in the New Testament to describe the relationship we are to have as a community of faith. The Holy Spirit unites us in a common purpose, joining us together in love. When the writer of Hebrews says, “Let mutual love continue,” this is the word used. As siblings in Christ, we are called to care for each other, to cherish each other, and to lift one another up. We are on this journey of faith together.
A third type of love is Eros (the root of the word “erotic”). This is the type of love most often celebrated on Valentine’s Day. It’s a love based in passion and desire for another person, a one-on-one relationship kind of love. This is the marital love, the butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling romantic love. “C.S. Lewis viewed eros as having the greatest potential to ‘urge evil as well as to good.’” Like all love, eros is a gift from God, and occasionally the Bible uses the passionate language of eros love to describe the relationship between God and God’s people (see Song of Solomon), but of course it’s also a form of love that’s easily abused in selfish ways.
Finally, and most importantly, there is Agape love. Agape love is selfless, unconditional love, shown ultimately by God. Agape is the most common word used in the New Testament to describe God’s love. This is the word when Jesus tells his disciples, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” Although it’s often read at weddings, the “love chapter” of 1 Corinthians 13 uses agape when it describes never-ending, patient, kind, unselfish love. This is the love shown to us on the cross, when Jesus laid down his life for us, and the love we are called to reflect. This is God’s love for you!
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Daniel Flucke
A few articles I consulted in writing this column: 1, 2, 3, 4.