Sometimes, this time of year, I get a little tired of being surrounded by the parade of red and pink hearts, sugary sweets, and commercialized sentimentality. Sometimes, I get a little tired of being pandered to as a consumer. Sometimes, the way love is portrayed in our culture, misses the mark and actually pushes us off the mark. This is why, with my dander sufficiently raised, I thought it a good time to reflect on what Love means in Christianity. As we heard in worship a few weeks ago, in Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Christmas sermon on peace, New Testament Greek describes love in three different ways. As Dr. King writes, 

"The first is eros. Eros is a sort of aesthetic, romantic love...the yearning of the soul for the realm of the divine...Some of the most beautiful love in all of the world has been expressed in this way. [Second] philos is a kind of intimate love between personal friends...[Third] agape is more than romantic love, it is more than friendship. Agape is understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill toward all men...When you rise to love on this level, you love all men not because you like them, not because their ways appeal to you, but you love them because God loves them."

I think it is wonderful that all three are found in our scriptures. Each describes different aspects and qualities of the relationships we have with others. Each is sacred, a gift from God, and capable of releasing love energy out into the world. 

I wonder, though, as these loves are monetized by our culture, how might we reclaim them for sacred purposes? How might our romantic loves and friendships also honor our Creator, the source of Love? How might these mirror the self-giving, compassionate, and restorative mutuality that is Godself?

Then, I wonder, how can we build each other up to practice this agape love that is able to love even those we loathe?

I'd watch that rom-com!