Testament Tuesday – God Loves You
Love is one of the most powerful human emotions. We will go through great lengths to express our love for one another and will do almost anything to feel and receive that love in return. Sadly, although love is in high demand it’s often in short supply. The problem with our love is that it is often self-centered.
A lot of the “love” we feel is backed by the subconscious thought of “What’s in this for me?”. Some relationships are built off of deeds or wants instead of true emotional connections. It’s more loving what the person does for us than the actual person themselves.
C.S. Lewis identified 4 different types of love: affection, friendship, erotic, and agape.
Affection love is the kind of love we have for something other than people, like animals or a car. Yes, it can be emotional to some extent, but it’s not the same kind of love that we should feel towards our spouse or other humans.
Friendship love is a valuable love in that it’s what makes up most of our human relationships. This is the type of love that you feel for your nearest and dearest friends and family. They type of love where you’ll do anything for that person because you truly care for them.
Erotic love is the love shared between a husband and a wife. It’s the primal desire to be as physically close to someone as possible because you love them so deeply.
Agape love is the highest, most other-centered love. It’s the type of love that we should all strive to give, Lewis called this “Divine Gift-Love”. When we love with agape love we desire the absolute best for the people we love. We are also able to love ALL people, even those who seem unlovable to others.
This love is the type of love God shows us as sinners. He shows us 100% agape love no matter what mistakes we make in this life. This is the type of love that as Christians we should strive for each and every day. God’s love for us is never self-centered, and God’s love is always sacrificial. Even when we make enemies with God through sin, God still loves us. When we turn away from God, He’s still there loving us. In fact, He loves us so much that He sacrificed His one and only son to save us! How deep is that love?
Love is the essence of God. It’s something that we should strive to be as God-like as possible in our own daily lives. Love is what motivates God to do all of the miraculous things He does for us and through us.
When you feel unworthy or unloved remember these things:
· God loves us despite who we are
· God does not help us because we deserve it; He helps us because He loves us
· The love of God has no limits
