Love, Part Two

      Yesterday I gave a vignette of the philosophical meaning of love. Today I want to continue with the New Testament meaning of the words we translate with the word love.
      There are three words in the Koine Greek of the New Testament often translated with the English word love. These are agape, eros, and phileo. Agape first appeared in the Attic language to describe the government storehouse used to put up surplus grain for future famine. The practice was to periodically throw open the doors to the storehouse so the people could take free grain that had been stored for most of its shelf life, to make room for fresh grain coming in from the farms. The idea was that this was given to the people without charge and was a great boon to the poor.
      In the Koine language, the word took on the denotation of giving of oneself freely, without expectation of return. Agape was used in the early Church to name the meal that took place after the worship celebration that included the Eucharist. In the Bible, the word is used to describe the self-sacrificing love displayed by a willingness to give up even one’s own life for another. Jesus’s famous, and oft misused, quote, “No greater love has any man than this, that he would lay down his life for his friends,” is the best example of the New Testament meaning of agape.
      Eros is not used often in the New Testament. I derives from the name of the name of the Greek god of sexual attraction and the bond between couples. In the New Testament, eros is elevated to a holy level, consecrated in the bond of marriage. Enough said on that one.
      The word phileo is the one most often used in the Bible for love. This word denotes the bond between family members and near friends. Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love (phileo) one another, that your joy may be full.” And later, “This is how they will know you are My disciples, by your love (phileo) for one another.”
      Every Christian is to be considered a member of the family of God. We are all His children by adoption. Even those who do not follow Christ are to benefit from Christian love (phileo). Saint John wrote in the third chapter of his first general letter to the Church:
            Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He that does not love, does not know God, for God is love.
      He goes on to argue emotionally for a general attitude of filial care and fondness toward all who are within and without the Church. I suggest to all, read the passage in your favorite version.
      An attitude of love, like daily contemplation, has many spiritual, mental and physical benefits for the person who adopts it. To love another causes us to empathize with the other. We have to give up grudges and hurts to love. This reduces the unnecessary stress related to these feelings. For the health of your soul, your body and your spirit, love one another.