Verse of the day
1 Corinthians 13:13 - Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
While the world will tell us the two sure things in life are death and taxes, God's word puts a positive spin and tells us three sure things that will last forever: faith, hope and love.
Being Valentine's Day, I'm going to focus on love. Can you guess how many types of love there are in the Bible? Two? Three? There are actually four types of love described in the Bible. Here they are:
1. Eros - This type of love is described as sensual, erotic and sexual. It's the love described in Song of Solomon between a man and a woman. It is to be confined within the union of marriage.
2. Storge - This is family love. For example, it is the love one feels when someone dies (when Mary and Martha lost their brother Lazerus). It can also be love between a parent and child such as the case between Abraham and Jacob. It can also be the genuine love between husband and wife.
3. Philia - This is a brotherly love. It's one so strong that one would give up their life for another. Such as in a time of battle. It's a type of love that shows a strong bond between two people that Eros and Storge cannot do, such as in the case between David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel.
4. Agape - Lastly, and most importantly, this love is described as the love God has for us. It is a supernatural and supreme love that comes from God. And we can only express this love through Jesus. It's the type of love that says, while being nailed to the cross, "forgive them for they no not what they do". It's the type of love that God the Father has shown by giving us His one and only son to die for our sins. It's a love with an everlasting amount of forgiveness, grace and mercy. It's love given when we don't deserve it. It's the type of love Jesus wants us to show one another.
This Valentine's Day, let's show our love to each other. Let us remember the different types of love and how we are to love others.
Heavenly Father, You are love. You've shown us throughout history how you've loved and taken care of your people. You've sacrificed your son for sinners. There is no greater love than that. Thank you for your abundant love.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
