1. Phileo Love stems from the human’s innate desire to be loved and be accepted. It is a warm feeling of the presence of another person.  It is the desire of building relationship, sharing thoughts and feeling, friendship and making connection. Others refer Phileo love as a brotherly love. Married people need this kind of love to make their bond stronger.

2. Storge love is a maternal type of love. It is the kind of love that bonds the mother and her children. Boy-girl friends with this kind of love sometimes develop their friendship to lover stage. It’s a kind of love that needs reward of being loved back to remain strong.

3. Eros Love can be both a physical and non-physical type of love. It is often associated with romance. It is often abused, misused and confused with lust. This kind of love is expressed with the so-called head-over-heals feeling during the higher stage of a relationship. It’s the feeling that makes a person desperate and unhappy without the presence of the partner. Eros love is wholly emotional thus making it very unsustainable. Experts say Eros love lasts for only 18-24 months.

4. Epithumia Love is the longing or strong desire for what is usually forbidden. With that being said, this kind of love leads to an uncontrollable desire to desperately own someone. During its early stage however it is often manifested with positive, selfless and uncorrupted intentions. 

5. Agape Love seeks the welfare and benefit of others. Unlike Phileo love, which is focused on feelings, agape love is concerned on actions and behaviors towards other people.

So, next time, someone tells you “I love you”, it would be wise to reply “and what kind of love is that?”

Men usually bow down and get on one knee to propose for courtship and in making a covenant for a relationship with the one he loves. You tend to find it so difficult to bow down and get on your knees unto the Lord.  You say you love HIM so dearly yet He is kept so far and at a distance most times. You hardly or seldom know what or how to say what you want or need to Him. Maybe your love is motivated by the wrong motives or obligations. Maybe you do not understand the true meaning of love and adoration; and you operate according to the way people have led you to believe what they are.  However, love (God) has always been in a place of its own, waiting for whomever to come and just touch, believe, use and understand. 

The Lord is waiting for that relationship of intimacy with you and has been for a very long time. You know how you draw close to someone for a moment and then you say that it is too good to be true? You later pull away because you cannot believe that anyone could embrace you or have that strong of affection towards you. You hold back and withdraw, never getting to experience that moment again if ever. The intimate relationship that we so often seek after is right there with open arms awaiting your arrival at the throne room of your own privacy and moment. This is what God is saying and wanting right now from you. He longs, as you long and hunger for you to touch Him, as He touches you back. He wants you to come and open up to Him as He gently moves around, upon and in you. The Lord will revive you, awaken your slumber soul and weary spirit, when you allow yourself to have the encounter of intimacy with Him.

Whisper to Him or loudly declare how much you desire and need more of Him. Tell Him how good He has been and yet is. Let Him Know how He makes you feel. Your desires will spill over into such an emotional upheaval that nothing could deter you from reaching out and telling Him. You will tell Him how awesome He is and how much He is appreciated, loved, and adored.  His love is as powerful, as it is frightening, to the one who has never experienced, understood or embraced it back. It overtakes and overshadows you that it leaves you in awe. You willnot be able to help it, and bow down to the affect, pouring out your adoration towards Him, as you would a lover. You need a close encounter with Him, even now. Stop pulling away and be free to express your feelings to your Lord. Let go and watch God.

You will worship your children, spouses, animals, lovers, houses and things that are temporal and leave you with a temporary jolt. You believe somehow that it is not needed as much with the Lord but that is the farthest from the truth. He needs and wants it even the more. The invisibility of His nature causes you to feel somewhat awkward, wondering if you are heard by Him, when praised. However, the eternal and internal affect from His love will leave a lasting impression that you would be moved to worship and submit to Him. It is just that powerful and God is just that awesome for such honor.

God exhibits that kind of love that you have long awaited and cried out for. The love that does not hurt, refuse or deny. His love is agape, and ever so lasting that you will immediately throw up your hands in glee and satisfaction, returning the favor.  His love evokes the love from you as you adore His approach, sovereignty and faithfulness.  Your inner being will be renewed and rejuvenated to the point of exuberance as the connection with your soul mate.  You need to be more assertive in your approach unto the Lord, without always waiting for Him to touch you first. Why not allow yourself the opportunity to release the fears and tear down the walls; to have a time of your life, in a world of your own, in a place of your own choosing, to finally get it on with the Lord.  WORSHIP THE LORD IN THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS! Today is a great day!

Here are some Greek definitions of love: 

Eros: romantic love of passion, physical longing, deep intensity, and intimacy. Often initial love that attracts a couple. Attracted to what it finds desirable, or beautiful–often knowing no limits and searching without satisfaction through many objects of desire. 

Philios: characterized by sharing, companionship and shared values, it exemplifies friendship-based and brotherly love. It is more comprehensive and less self-seeking than eros. 

Storge: family love between parent/child or between two incredibly close people. It is instinctive, and does not need to be requited. 

Agape: considered purest, most comprehensive and most mysterious form of love, which loves unconditionally. Agape dissolves our separateness from God, others, and ourselves, as instead of seeking the security and consolation of seeking to be loved, we are love. Agape is the love of altruism, of giving without asking anything in return.

A famous Bible verse in 1 Corinthians 13 states other qualities of love:

Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way: it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails

So how do we attract love into our lives? We get love by giving love, for as we give, so do we receive. Life is a mirror and will reflect back to us what we put out. Want more love in your life? Then I invite you to demonstrate to a friend or family member real AGAPE love. Call someone up for no other reason than to tell them you love them. 

LOVE IS PATIENT: Imagine for a moment what patience could do in your life? What would your home be like if everyone had great patience? What would the world be like if all people had patience with each other? What is love? Love is Patience and it begins with each of us. 

LOVE IS KIND.

Kindness is directly connected to patience. Patience endures injuries and insults and kindness pays them back with good deeds and kind actions. In Greek the word kindness means “useful.” Love is kind means we express God by being kind, by being useful and of benefit to others. 

“Who is born of love is born of God for God is Love.” 

Eros-the word is derived from the name of the Greek god of erotic love. Eros is the kind of love that most adult people are interested of because it is associated with romance.  A man feels for a woman because he is physically attracted to her because of her beauty or other attributes. Eros should be distinguished from lust because the latter is just an intense sexual desire even if one has no feeling of personal affection to another person. A man maybe sexually attracted to a woman even if he does not love her. Eros is the most delicate kind of love because social norms are violated when the loving is done irresponsibly. An example is a married man who falls in love with a woman other than his wife or a man who has a romantic relationship with another man.

Storge- is the family love that arises out of the bond among mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. The parents raised their children under one roof. As time goes by the members of the family developed a sense of belongingness to one another. Under this environment love among members of the family is created.

Phileo- is derived from the Greek word philia which means friendship. Phileo is a friendly love to another person irrespective of gender. It is a feeling of love to another person without romantic feeling involved. This love comes as a result of association, comradeship, sharing and communicating and developing trust and confidence on another person. It also includes loyalty and familiarity to another. A person in love is maybe motivated by his desire to help the person he loves succeed.  

Agape- is a literally love in Greek. It is the supreme love and the person involved is unconditionally committed to other people. He loves other people completely without expecting something from them in return. These people might be his wife, members of his family or even strangers. His love is charitable, selfless, altruistic and unconditional. Agape is to love people as one loves himself. It is a selfless love. It is the way God is seen to love humanity.

Love is the foundation of healthy family relationship. A man and a woman are physically attracted to each other and get romantically involved. An erotic love may work for the couple in the short run. But they cannot sustain long relationship with only a romance. Somewhere along the way the couple has to strengthen their relationship by having an unconditional commitment to each other.

People say they Love their spouse, their girlfriend/boyfriend.  And yet their eyes still follow a good looking person walking by, Not only do they look, they Stare!  Even in front of the one they love.  Not caring if they feel threatened by this or not. “Its natural to look”.  “If they cant handle it, is their problem”,  They say.  What is that all about?

What is Agape Love?  Is unconditional Love, Is trusting, Believing, and most of all is Giving Of themselves without reservation.  Can it still be possible in this world full of deseit, material centered, lustfulness and lies? I think it is. What do You think????

Each morning we get up either with a smile on our face or even a frown, while some of us have our days all planned out while the others wish that they could just sleep forever! Some of us are very verve, and get all dolled up and look forward to the day, and some are not even interested.

But what keeps us blissful, ecstatic and makes us love ourselves is just knowing the fact that we are going to meet or see that special someone, even if it’s for 10 minutes at the least or even if it is spending the whole day at the most or even if it is date on Skype or Oovoo nothing to make us more happy, peaceful, thankful and most of all amorous. It’s a Talisman!

The paradox of the matter is that Love has an elixir as well as its shadow. Yet more delightful than wine and much more pleasing is the fragrance of its perfume than any spice. When it comes to defining Love; according to the Bible “God Is Love”, the New Testament “For  God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” ,and according to the Collins Dictionary it’s a verb that states “to have a great affection for a person or thing” and let’s not forget Wiki which deduces “Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment”.

Well love is simply beautiful for all sorts of reasons, it’s unconditional.  The universe only makes sense when we have someone to share our feelings with. “Pain and suffering are used to justify the one thing that brings only joy: love. “Considering the way the world is, one happy day is almost a miracle.”

 Corinthians 13:4–8a 
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, 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, and always perseveres. Love never fails”

It’s also important to remember that love has its forms, Phileo(brotherly love, affinity) and Agape(fervently love) and that we should keep the flame of passion burning in our soul for eternal life. They say “love your enemies” well “If you love those who love you, what credit is that for you? Even sinners love those who love them” But who loves sinners?

We fall in love maybe because the other persons comely, or you conflate with them, adore them, or what so ever. There are dalliances or even summer romance. Yet when we are in love, we make fools of ourselves, bumbledom, laugh, play, also get intimate, and feel like the stars that walk on the heavens.

Ah! It’s worth it.

Do everything in love. Cause’ if you don’t have love, you gain nothing.

Despite other terms available such as “like,” “fond of,” and “appreciate,” the word “love” is used in many situations. For example, instead of “greatly enjoying” pizza, many say “I love pizza.” Infatuation with a person is confused with “love,” as is sexual attraction (at times) and arousal (“making love”). Tastes change and libido often dissipates. Hence, for some, love in marriage and family is quite changeable.

Sadly, most languages, if not all, degrade over time, along with their societies. However, the standards of God do not. Nor do the words the Holy Spirit selected through the human authors who wrote the Holy Bible. The languages used to write the Holy Bible were Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.

The Greeks had four words that we often translate as “love,” but only two of those words were used for the New Testament. However, for the Old Testament (Hebrew and some Aramaic) there are eleven words, with at least one being a modifier. All eleven have different shades of meaning, and are spelled and pronounced differently.

Some of the verbs listed include the following definitions: 

…To be charmed, be greatly delighted; of impure love.

…To be tender; have compassion.

…To connect or join together (a connection of heart with any object that inclines us to love it).

…To cherish with tender love, to hide in the bosom, and so to protect.

However the most used verb is “aw-hab.” Though its definition is a bit broad, in some cases it does match the highest term for love in the Greek, agape (ah-gah-pay) when “it implies ardent and vehement inclination of the mind, at the same time tenderness and fulness of affection…”

Despite the continued waywardness of the Jews in Jeremiah’s time, the Holy Spirit selected this verb in Jeremiah 31:3–”The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”

The second occurrence is apparently a noun form of the verb. We see above that noun is modified by the term “everlasting.”

This is the love God generally has towards all, and specifically to the Body of Christ (Eph. 5:25). This is the type of love we should apply on our part toward God. Imagine what would happen if we who are married would endeavor to love our spouse and children with an everlasting “ardent and vehement inclination of the mind” with “tenderness and fulness of affection.” As other precepts of God’s Word are applied, having this type of love will strengthen our relationship with our spouse and family, giving added protection from the onslaughts of sin so prevalent in the world.

Notes:

Much of this article was based upon information from Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies by William Wilson, MacDonald Publishing, McLean, VA: pp 260-261.

All verses are from the Authorized Version.

Image via Wikipedia

              When Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross for the sins of the world, He was performing the greatest act of agape love ever known. And this is what He asks of us. We must reach out to love and help other people who need us – even we don’t feel like it or when it is inconvenient.

              Here’s how one author describes love:

By it we are born, through it we are sustained, and for it, we will sacrifice life itself. Love insulates the child, gives joy to you, and comfort and sustenance to the aging. Love cures the sick, raises the fallen, comforts the tormented, inspires the composer, the novelist, the painter, and the poet – Anthony Walsh.

              Our support systems begin through our willingness to come together and help make each other feel worthwhile. They are non-possessive and non-threatening. When careers or relationships are changing, they offer us stability in unstable times.

             Both your self-image and your self-esteem are influenced by the kind of support systems you have at work, home, play, and worship. Self-image is how to see yourself. Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself.

             Consider whether you’re surrounding yourself with people who increase your confidence and acceptance of yourself. Are they people who enhance your daily performance? People who help create an environment for growth? Who help you gain new interests and competencies? Who assist you in reaching your goals? Are the people in your life improving or at least complementing your physical and psychological health?