Love

I love Love.

Whenever I hear about two people falling in love, I can’t help but smile. I want all of the beautiful, juicy details. The mushier they are, the happier I am.

How did you meet? Was it love at first sight? What caught your interest? How did you get each others attention? Who made the first move? When did you realize it was love? What are your plans, hopes and dreams for the future?

The idea of love promises so much.

There is this sense of security that comes with being in love.

You feel protected and safe. You feel happy. You feel like you belong.

My husband calls it a “coming home” feeling.

I love Love- and as beautiful and wonderful as the love I just described is- there is so much more to love than a mutual affection between two people.

In fact, according to the Ancient Greeks, there are 8 types of love:

1. Agape- Unconditional Love
2. Eros- Romantic Love
3. Philia- Affectionate Love
4. Philautia- Self Love
5. Storge- Familiar Love
6. Pragma- Enduring Love
7. Ludus- Playful Love
8. Mania- Obsessive Love

Eros is the type of love so many of us are focused on. It’s the type of love that I described above. It’s good to have Eros in your life, but, there is more to life than Eros.

I’m going to shift gears for a minute.

One of my personal struggles and areas for growth is my tendency to have an all or nothing outlook on life. Everything used to be so black and white for me. – Either something is right, or it is wrong. Either something has value, or it doesn’t. Either something is truth, or it isn’t. – A lot of this mentality is a result of how I (mis?) interpreted what others said about what it means to be a Christian.

Now, to get back on track.

It’s really hard to embrace the spectrum of color that is life and love when you are constantly hearing blanket statements about sin and human nature.

Because blanket statements don’t seem to leave room for unconditional (Agape) love.

It is my personal opinion that Agape love includes, but is not limited to, each of the other types of love.

I’ve either heard it said, read somewhere, or felt the implication that true unconditional love is next to impossible- but maybe not completely impossible- for humanity to experience- that God alone is capable of expressing agape love- and the closer we get to God, the better able we are to love others well.

It is because of this “feeling” that I propose the following:

1. Truth is found in love.
2. Religion can get us close, but not all the way.
3. Religious rules stem from the fear of being unloved.
4. It’s hard (but not impossible) to accept love, when we can’t, or won’t, give love.
5. It’s hard (but not impossible) to give love when we can’t, or won’t, accept love.
6. Love is both a noun and a verb.
7. We can’t always control how we feel.
8. We can always control how we act.
9. You don’t have to like or agree with someone to love them- but it definitely helps.
10. When loving others becomes your focus, the fear of being unloved is removed.
11. When the fear of being unloved no longer controls you, you see the world differently.
12. When you love people for who they are, you become less concerned with their choices- and you allow them to experience love without conditions.
13. Being able to truly love without conditions is the strongest evidence of spiritual growth.

 

But, what IS love?

To quote the Bible:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Love is intangible- You can see it through others, you can feel it in your life, you can express it through actions and words- but, at it’s core- love is just a concept.

Just an idea.

A whisper, a breath, a vapor.

It has no form. It has no color. It has no shape, no mass, no quantifiable measurement.

Love just is.

and, at the center of it all-

God is Love. (1 John 4:8)