Philia

Sometimes, I consider love.
It's probably one of the most over-used, under-sincere words in the english language. I had a pastor who once compared the love for his wife to his love for fried chicken.. I know that in Greek, there are actually many different words which all mean love.Let's see how much I remember.
Agape is the most widely known. That is the self-sacrificing, "true" love. The type of love Jesus had for us when he sacrificed himself to atone for our sins. It is the love described in the "love" chapter of the bible; 1 Corinthians 13.
Eros is the love of passion. I know that Plato once said eros 'helps the soul recall knowledge of beauty', and 'contributes to an understanding of spiritual truth.'
Philia is the love of friendship, a virtuous love. It includes loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality and familiarity.
Storge is the lesser-known love, and means "affection" in Greek. It's used to describe the feeling one has toward family members. It can also be used in situations of "loving the one who hurts you"
I sincerely wish we had this many words to describe love in English, because I feel the word has become a cliche. I had to spend time going over my testimony this past week, and it got me thinking about how much my mom told me she loved me growing up, and how much I tell the people in my life that I love them. No matter how much I do, I never feel like it is enough.
I think of Philia love, and how much of that I see displayed every day in my life. Clint speaks so often of community, to such a point that I begin to wonder if our community is all that it could be. But when I reflect on the past year of my life, and even the past couple days, all I see is love and community. That's what sticks out to me. Jen bringing me ginger ale when I had the flu, or Clint bringing food to the MacBain's when Carol's dad passed away, or everyone supporting the Thompson's after Aiden was born.
I think of our cellgroup, and how we're always praying for those with us and who cannot make it, and the overwhelming amount of love they showed me last night.
Maybe love is overused and undersincere, but I hope everyone in pathways finds comfort in the fact that it is never under-represented or under-appreciated.



If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.
1 Corinthians 13 The Message