LOVE

The Greeks had several words that reflected various concepts of "love." Forms of three of these are found in the N.T. (a) The noun storge had a variety of uses in the ancient world, but it most commonly had to do with family love. Paul uses a negative form of it twice to designate those who are "without natural affection" (Rom. 1:31; 2 Tim. 3:3). This would condemn family members who abuse one another (including mothers who kill their babies), whether in the natural family or the spiritual family. In Romans 12:10 Paul joins storgos with phileo which comes out as "tenderly affectioned" in the ASV. (b) The Greek term phileo is a tender, affectionate love -- the love of the heart. It is that which a parent would have for his child (Mt. 10:37, or the love between two close friends (Jn. 11:3, 36; 20:2). Interestingly, the word "kiss" (philema) is a kindred term. (c) The most predominate words for love in the N.T. are the noun agape, together with its corresponding verb, agapao. This is the love of the will. It casts aside emotions, likes and dislikes, and loves because of the worth of the object to be loved. Agape is the love with which God loved us, even when we were sinners, prompting him to give his own Son on our behalf (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8). Nigel Turner, one of Great Britain's prominent Greek scholars, has noted that among the best of the ancient pagans (e.g., Aristotle), "God" was not expected to love human beings. Perhaps that is why agape was extremely rare in its usage before Christianity gave it a personality all its own. The best lexicon of agape is found in 1 Corinthians 13; there love is described as being patient, kind, and not envious. It is neither boastful nor proud. It behaves well, is unselfish, isn't easily irritated, and doesn't keep score on the mistakes of others. Love does not rejoice in things wrong, but is happy with truth. It is willing to overlook being wronged when possible, and to believe the best of others. It abides in hope and endures when all else fails. It is a life-long challenge.