Lesson 5

Hey guys! I am so sorry that I haven't written for a few weeks now, I had a family issue that has taken up a significant amount of my time. I am not quite ready to share what has happened with my family, but it is a beautiful story and I do plan on sharing it soon so stay updated. This week I would like to talk about the fifth lesson that I have learned in my family relations class. Today I would like to talk about the three types of love, agápe, éros and philia. Now many of you may have heard of these words, but I will explain them anyways. These are the three greek words for love, they are similar but different. Agápe in the greek language means love, this words refers to the selfless love that one has for his brother. Éros also means love, but this word refers to more of a sexual intimacy love. Philia means, you guessed it, love, and refers to the love that exists between friends.

My question for all of you is what kind of love should there be between you and your partner? I would bet that almost 100% of people would say that in a relationship éros should be the type of love that exists between the two. Other will say that a agápe relationship is more important. and others will say that philia doesn't really apply to a relationship. Here is my opinion. I believe that love is an evolutionary thing, I believe that love starts always as philia, eventually moves on to éros and with enough effort and practice love becomes agápe. Many may believe that éros is the strongest of these three and that sexual attraction and intimacy is the end all be all of a relationship. For me being able to care about someone more than I care about myself is the end all be all of love. For me there is nothing stronger than an agápe love. unfortunately I believe that people emphasize greatly the importance of sex and sexual rights and they focus less on selfless love and charity. The word of the Lord Jesus Christ come to mind " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13. Love is not about sexual satisfaction, love is about thinking not only about someone else but thinking of their wellbeing as if it were our own.

Reflect on your relationships. Love is to be selfless so make it that way! Become better, not for you, but for those around you! Be a light to all those that see you! I believe in love, I believe in the family and I believe in God. I know that he loves us, so let's love each other.