No Ordinary Love
Human beings show love in quite a few different ways. God shows love only one way. Love itself is a very interesting subject to explore. There is a long list of types of love, but this hub article will just focus on five major types of love. Here are the five major types of love and their meanings:
Love
Five Major Types of Love
Mania – “Some people experience love as being out of control. Love is an overwhelming experience; it turns one’s life upside down and it results in a complete loss of one’s identity. Love based on Mania is crazy, impulsive and needy. People who experience love as Mania fall in love quickly, but their love tends to consume them. Love experienced as Mania also tends to burn out before it gets the chance to mature. Such love is often marked by extreme delusions, feelings of being out of control, rash decisions, and vulnerability.” (truthaboutdeception.com)
Eros – “Eros, named after the Greek god of fertility, and it represented the idea of sexual passion and desire. But the Greeks didn't always think of it as something positive, as we tend to do today. In fact, Eros was viewed as a dangerous, fiery, and irrational form of love that could take hold of you and possess you—an attitude shared by many later spiritual thinkers. Eros involved a loss of control that frightened the Greeks. Which is odd, because losing control is precisely what many people now seek in a relationship.” (yesmagazine.org)
Philos – “This is a unique kind of love like the one you have for a companion or pal. It refers to loving one another just like your brother or sister. This love is for a pal who is really close and dear to us and it is characterized by various different shared experiences between two people. In fact, this is the kind of love that many Christians tend to practice towards one another. And although philos love is really wonderful, it is not that much reliable, since it can end up souring at times as we have all experienced at some point in our lives.” (totescute.com)
Storgy – “Storgy is the love one has for a dependent. It is commonly called “motherly love.” It is entirely based on the relationship between the “lover” and the “lovee.” When the dependent is no longer dependent, this love remains only in its emotional remnants. It is one of the stronger loves, because it involves a commitment that relies on only one trait of the receiver – that he or she is dependent. This type of love is toxic to a marriage under normal circumstances. Marriages that look more like a mother/son or father/daughter relationship is moving quickly downhill.” (chrismlegg.com)
Agape – “Agape love is a little different. It is not a feeling; it's a motivation for action that we are free to choose or reject. Agape is a sacrificial love that voluntarily suffers inconvenience, discomfort, and even death for the benefit of another without expecting anything in return. We are called to agape love through Christ's example: "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God" (Ephesians 5:1-2).” (compellingtruth.org)
Man’s Love
Man’s love (men and women) is expressed in my different types. The reason for the many types of love that men and women express is due to the fact that a void need to be filled by an alternative type of love. Men and women try to fill the void of pure love by replacing it with manic love, sexual love, motherly love, and brotherly love.
All other forms of love beside pure love pales in comparison to pure love. Even though alternative types of love may satisfy men and women temporarily, the void in their heart will come back and they will need to fill it again.
God is Love
God’s Love
Pure love is God’s love. God’s love is Agape (unconditional) love. God’s love is no ordinary love. God brings a completely different meaning to the word “Love”. God can fill men and women with His love and they will be satisfied eternally. All alternative types of love can become non-existent if all mankind will turn to God and accept His love for them.
God’s love is only one sided though. God does not need to feel loved. God does not have to love anyone. God wants to love mankind unconditionally, without needing love from man in return. God’s love is pure and righteous!
Agape Love
Call for Agape Love
All other love besides Agape love is conditional and short lived. Once the feeling of the short lived love goes away, man needs to feel more of it. It is possible for men and women to obtain Agape love for others. But, the only way for anyone to give Agape love is to first receive it from God. Mankind can can’t use Agape love like God uses it, because they can’t give unconditional love eternally. But, at least mankind is capable of using it if practiced.
If all mankind would accept God’s love and show God’s love to others, Mankind would be at peace with themselves eternally if kept in constant practice. The devil does like to ruin the continual flow if Agape love, though; that is why Agape love needs to be practiced. To keep the practice of Agape love flowing, a continual devotion to God needs to be implemented in each and every person’s daily life.
The Devil
The devil will try his best to distract those who are putting God’s love into practice on a daily basis. The easiest way for the devil to distract people is to get them busy life away from God and His will. Believe it or not, doing mundane tasks keeps people away from doing God’s will. The devil loves to keep people busy with mundane tasks to keep them from devoting their time to God and His will.
Another way the devil loves to distract people from doing God’s will and spreading Agape love, is to get people to stop thinking about other people and their feeling. If a person becomes self-absorbed with himself or herself, that person won’t be able to do God’s will. That self-absorbed person will only be able to focus on the things that only pertains to him or her.
One other way the devil loves to distract people from doing God’s will, is to get them to be at odds with each other. If a person is at odds with another person, that person will not want to show Agape love to the other person. Being at odds with other people can be as simple disagreeing with what another person is doing or saying. But, there are can be varying degrees of discontent for one another, if the situation becomes more volatile. The most extreme form of discontent for one another is murder.
Agape Love
Come Receive God’s Love
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV)
God unconditionally loves the world so much that He sacrificed His only son (Jesus Christ). God sacrificed His only son so we can be saved. God does not need us, but He unconditionally loves us so much that he is willing to save us from Hell.
Ask God’s son, Jesus Christ, to come into your heart so He can take away your sins. God does not need us to follow Him, but He wants us to follow Him. By accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you now have the chance to walk on the path that God wants you to follow.
Give Him a Chance!
So, Give Jesus Christ a chance to come into your heart. You won’t regret it! – Eternal life awaits you!