John 13:34| 1 John 4:16 | Romans 5:5
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
(John 13:34 NLT)
…Parting words from Jesus to his disciples. When the disciples heard this, they probably thought, “Sounds a lot more relaxed than like, not stealing or lying or murdering!”
Interesting fact: The Greek language of Jesus’ day had around seven different words for love. There was eros, a passionate romantic love; philia, a brotherly affection; storge, a more general love between family members; pragma, a practical arrangement; ludus, a purely playful, uncommitted love; philauta, a self-love; and finally agape, an unselfish concern for the well-being of others.
The word Jesus used for love in his new commandment was the last one, agape. Josh and Emma, in the Superbook Show episode, added some very insightful ways to show this kind of love:
- Put others’ needs in front of your own.
- Treat others with kindness, care, and respect.
- Let others know that you love them because Christ loved you first.
You might be thinking: “Easy peasy!” Or maybe you don’t say “easy peasy” anymore… But seriously, is that an easy checklist?
Consider this… There is only one piece of pizza left, and you are still hungry. As you raise it to your mouth, your brother arrives–who has not eaten yet. How easy is it to put his hunger in front of your own?
And what about kindness and respect for your inconsiderate neighbor who leaves their trash out to smell up the whole area? Does that come easily?
Is it easy to tell your very cool unbelieving friends that you love them because Christ loved you first?
The truth is: it’s not easy to show Agape love because it is a self-sacrificing kind of love. And that kind of love does not come naturally. It comes from God.
“God is love [agape]. Whoever lives in love [agape] lives in God, and God in them.”
(1 John 4:16 NLT)
So if you want to be the type of loving person Jesus commanded us to be, you need God’s help. Thankfully, if you have faith that Jesus is who he said he was–the Son of God and the Savior of the world–then know that God’s Agape love can fill your heart.
God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
(Romans 5:5b NIV)
Questions for Group Discussion
- Can you think of other words in our language to express agape love?
- If you had to rank the seven types of love listed above, how would you do so?
- How do you think the idea of agape love is regarded outside of the Christian community? How do you think people respond to displays of selfless love? Do you think people who don’t know the word agape recognize it as love?
- How does it make you feel that Jesus commanded his disciples to selflessly love each other? Would you feel better if he had suggested it? Recommended it? Requested it?
Many Names: Application
The Greek language had seven different words for love. Why is that?
Think about your own language, and write down something for which there are multiple words to describe it. Write down all the different corresponding words you can think of.
If you can think of other examples of multiple words to describe similar notions, write them down as well.
Then answer the following questions for each of the examples you listed:
- Does it make communication easier to have multiple, more specific words? Why or why not?
- What does it say about your language that there are multiple words to express this concept?
- Why do you think the Greek culture of Jesus’ time created so many words for love?
