The greatest love story ever told is the story of the Bible – “For God so loved the world, he gave his only Son” (John 3:16). Because God loved – he gave. Love is God’s idea!
It is easy to hear the word “love” and yet not fully understand its complete scope. There can be many reasons that attribute to our lack of empiricism regarding just how much God loves us. One reason could be that we may have never had healthy love modeled for us and therefore, our view of love is somewhat jaded. It is hard to experience something one may have never had before.
Another reason that it may be difficult grasping the magnitude of God’s love for us is we use “love” to describe many different types and levels of love … “I love pizza” – “I love the beach” – “I love America” – “I love you”. The English language uses one word to describe many different kinds of emotions.
Thankfully, when God speaks of his love for us through the words of the Bible, we have the rich Greek language to differentiate the meaning. It is obvious that the love one has for a slice of pizza is not (or should not) be the same love that a man has for a woman or vice versa. The love a mother has for her child is completely different than the love she exchanges with her mate.
God made us completely equipped to experience and have the capacity of many different types of love. The Greek language contains more than 100 different expressions for the word LOVE – here is a look at eight of the most popular expressions:
- Philia — Affectionate Love.
- Pragma — Enduring Love.
- Storge — Familiar Love.
- Eros — Romantic Love.
- Ludus — Playful Love.
- Mania — Obsessive Love.
- Philautia — Self Love.
- Agape — Selfless Love.
God’s love for us is AGAPE – a pure, selfless, sacrificial love, seeking our very best!
John 15:13 Jesus said that there is no greater agape than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. Truly, Agape is the very highest form of love. We love because God first loved us. (1 John 4:19).
God desired the highest and best for us, so he gave us his highest and best to us. This is ultimate love!
If you would like to find out more about experiencing God’s love, please email me at [email protected].
Rhonda Smart
