Eros, Pragma, Banquet, Mania, Ludus and Storge. Yes, they sound like exotic birds or rivers in Greece, but they actually refer to various ways people think about the big l-o-v-e. Your values depend on your personality, and, to a large extent, on the culture you were brought up in.
Eros is passionate, physical, lustful love—the kind that gives you butterflies in your stomach and a tingling in certain other places.
Pragma is a practical love. People who conceive of love this way are pragmatic (you didn't see that one coming, didja?) when looking for a partner. They choose their mate based on rational decisions about whom they fit best with.
Banquet is love that expresses itself through altruism, or making sacrifices for another person.
Mania is an obsessive love that, while intimate and intense, often includes jealousy, possessiveness and a lack of communication. Maniacal love can lead to domestic violence.
Ludus is love that's a game. A Ludic lover wants to have fun, but doesn't necessarily want a serious relationship.
Storge is friendship-based love. A Storge lover wants a companion who shares her likes and dislikes and who can form a long relationship based on closeness, trust, security and affection.
Eighty percent of Spaniards agreed with the Eros characterization of love. Banquet came in second—70 percent agreed that it was acceptable. Pragma and Storge were right behind, accepted by just over half of respondents
Definition: Eros is the physical, sensual love between a husband and wife.
Although this Greek term does not appear in the Bible, eros, or erotic love, is portrayed in the Old Testament book, The Song of Solomon. God is very clear in his Word. Sex outside of marriage is forbidden.
God created humans male and female and instituted marriage in the Garden of Eden. Within marriage, sex is used for emotional and spiritual bonding and for reproduction.
The Apostle Paul noted that it is wise for people to marry to fulfill their godly desire for this type of love:
Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
Definition: Storge is family love, the bond among mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers.
As with eros, this Greek term does not appear in the Bible. However, many examples of family love are found in Scripture, such as the love and mutual protection amongNoah and his wife, their sons and daughters-in-law in Genesis; the love of Jacob for his sons; and the strong love the sisters Martha and Mary in the gospels had for their brotherLazarus.
The family was a vital part of ancient Jewish culture. In the Ten Commandments, God charges his people to:
Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.(Exodus 20:12, NIV)
Definition: Philia means close friendship or brotherly love in Greek. It is one of the four types of love in the Bible.
Philia and other forms of this Greek noun are found throughout the New Testament. Christians are frequently exhorted to love their fellow Christians:
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.(Romans 12:10 ESV)
Definition: Agape is selfless, sacrificial, unconditional love, the highest of the four types of love in the Bible.
This Greek word and variations of it are found throughout the New Testament. Agape perfectly describes the kind of love Jesus Christ has for his Father and for his followers:
Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.(John 14:21, NIV)
Example:
Jesus lived out agape by sacrificing himself for the sins of the world.
Genesis 29:20
So Jacob worked seven years to pay for Rachel. But his love for her was so strong that it seemed to him but a few days. (NLT)
Proverbs 5:19
A loving doe, a graceful deer—may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love.
(NIV)
Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. (NIV)
Proverbs 13:24
Those who love their children care enough to discipline them. (NLT)
Proverbs 15:17
A bowl of vegetables with someone you love is better than steak with someone you hate. (NLT)
Proverbs 17:9
Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. (NLT)
Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. (NIV)
Proverbs 30:18-19
There are three things that amaze me—
no, four things that I don’t understand:
how an eagle glides through the sky,
how a snake slithers on a rock,
how a ship navigates the ocean,
how a man loves a woman. (NLT)
Song of Solomon 1:2
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine. (NIV)
Song of Solomon 2:16
My lover is mine, and I am his. (NLT)
Song of Solomon 4:10
How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice! (NIV)
Song of Solomon 8:6
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. (NIV)
Song of Solomon 8:7
Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned. (NIV)
Matthew 22:37–39
Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' (NKJV)
How to Find Love That Changes EverythingFind Love So Overwhelming it Can Take Your Breath Away
Can you find love on the Internet?
Millions of people believe you can. They want to reduce the search to the click of a mouse and discover lifelong bliss. In the real world, however, it’s not that easy to find love.
We have such high expectations for love that no person can ever meet them. When that happens, we can give up, thinking we'll never get the kind of love we want, or we can turn to someplace unexpected: God.
Your reaction may be a disgusted, “Yeah, right.” But think about it. We’re not talking about physical intimacy here. We’re talking about love: pure, unconditional, indestructible, eternal love. This is a love so overwhelming it can take your breath away, so forgiving it can make you weep uncontrollably.
Let’s not argue whether God exists. Let’s talk aboutwhat kind of love he has for you.
How to Find Love Without Limits
Who wants love that sets conditions? “If you hurt my feelings, I'll stop loving you.” “If you don’t quit that habit I don’t like, I'll stop loving you.” “If you break any of these rules I set, I'll stop loving you.”
Many people have a wrong idea about God's love for them. They think it's based on their performance. If it were, not a single human being would qualify.
No, God's love is based on grace, a free gift for you, but paid for at a terrible price by Jesus Christ. When Jesus voluntarily sacrificed himself on the cross to pay for your sins, you became acceptable to his Father through Jesus' merit, not your own. Jesus' acceptance by God will transfer to you if you believe in him.
That means for Christians, there are no “ifs” when it comes to God's love. Let's be clear, though. We don't have a license to go out and sin as much as we want. As a loving Father, God will discipline (correct) us.Sin still has consequences. But once you accept Christ, you have God's love, his unconditional love, for eternity.
When you're trying to find love, you'll have to agree you won't get that kind of devotion from another human being. Our love has limits. God's does not.
How to Find Love Made Just for You
God is not like an entertainer who shouts to an audience, “I love you!” He loves you individually. He knows everything there is to know about you and understands you better than you understand yourself. His love is custom-made for you alone.
Imagine your heart is like a lock. Only one key fits it perfectly. That key is God's love for you. His love for you doesn't fit anyone else and his love for them doesn't fit you. God doesn't have a master key of love that fits everyone. He has an individual, special love for every single person.
What's more, because God created you, he knows exactly what you need. You may think you know yourself, but only he knows best. In heaven, we will learn that God always made the right decision for each of us based on love, no matter how painful or disappointing it seemed at the time.
No other person can ever know you as God does. That's why no other person can love you as he can.
How to Find Love that Sustains You
Love can see you through hard times, and that's what the Holy Spirit does. He lives in each believer. The Holy Spirit is our personal, intimate connection to Jesus Christ and God the Father. When we need supernatural assistance, he takes our prayers to God then provides us with guidance and strength.
The Holy Spirit has been called the Helper, Comforter, and Counselor. He is all those things and more, displaying God's power through us if we surrender to him.
When trouble hits, you don't want a long distance love. You may not be able to feel the Holy Spirit's presence within you, but your feelings are not reliable when it comes to God. You have to go by what the Bible tells to be true.
God's love for you lasts through eternity, giving you endurance for your journey here on earth and complete fulfillment in heaven.
How to Find Love Right Now
Human love is an incredible thing, the kind of gift that puts purpose in your life and happiness in your heart. Fame, fortune, power, and good looks are like trash compared to human love.
God's love is even better. It is the one thing all of us seek in life, whether we realize it or not. If you have found yourself disillusioned after reaching some goal you've chased for years, you're beginning to understand the reason why. That longing you can't put into words is your soul's desire for God's love.
You can deny it, fight it or try to ignore it, but God's love is the missing piece in the puzzle that is you. You will always be incomplete without it.
Christianity has good news: What you want is free for the asking. You've come to the right place to find love that changes everything.
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