Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Four Kinds of Love Part 3
The fourth Greek word we need to understand is storge, which is the love and affection that naturally occurs between parents and children, can exist between siblings, and exists between husbands and wives in a good marriage. It occurs in Romans 12:10 in the word, philostorgos, which is a compound word made up of philos (the noun form of phileo) and storge. Romans 12:10 is a very important verse, directing us to be very loving and kind to each other.
Romans 12:10 (expanded translation)
As to your brotherly love, let there be deep friendship and family-affection toward one another.
If one is going to have a meaningful spiritual life, obedient to the voice of God and have rich fellowship with others who love the Lord, he or she will need to exercise all three kinds of love. We need agape love because some of the things that God requires of us are not fun or easy, but need to be done. We need to have phileo love because we need true friends to stand with us, people who are emotionally connected to us and with whom we can share our deepest thoughts and feelings. Lastly, we Christians need to have storge love between us, a deep family affection that comforts us and helps us feel connected to all our spiritual family.
http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=743 slightly edited
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I liked this. It opened my mind to new ways of acting and thinking. One question. When people have near death experiences they mention how they are overwhelmed with the Love of God. It is something of great warmth and peace. Which Love is it?
ReplyDeleteGood question.
ReplyDeleteI agree--great question. I am very familiar with near death experiences and I am convinced that we have no word in English that can describe the kind of love that the Lord has and radiates. It is in a category all by itself.
ReplyDeleteIt is a love that melts your bones and causes every cell in your body to sing for joy. It is a consuming love that must be felt to be understood. The deepest love we have for our spouses or children is but a pale shadow of God's love.