The Walk of Love

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. ² And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

(ESV)

Walking and imitating the sacrificial love of Christ should be the goal of everyone who has chosen to place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 12:1 states this truth a different way by encouraging us to be living sacrifices or people choosing to sacrifice their desires to the desires and will of their Lord.  While this should be our goal as believers, we live in a secular world where the concept of love has become distorted and even perverted.  Fortunately, however, the original Greek language in which the New Testament of the Bible was written provides some clarification of the meaning of the word translated love for it uses three words that are translated into love in English.  Let us look at these three words and how they are used in scripture.

1)      Eros – This term which can be translated as love is from the Greek and means desire and longing.  Perhaps a better English word for this type of love would be lust.  Even though eros does not appear in the original Greek of the New Testament, (1) it is the predominant meaning many attach to the word love in the secular world when they read or hear it.  Although this type of love is not specifically mentioned in scripture, it does not mean it is ungodly for it is used as a metaphor in The Song of Solomon and described as beneficial in the context of marriage as a way to avoid temptation (1Corinthians 7:1-5).  We can therefore conclude that when we encounter the world love in our English translations of the Bible, it is not the word eros.

2)      Philos – In the United States, the city of Philadelphia is nicknamed the city of brotherly love.  This is because its name is derived from the Greek word Philos which is the Greek word for brotherly love.  Perhaps a better way of translating this term would not be love but friendship.  (2)

3)      Agape – This represents the highest order of love for it is the divine love Jesus demonstrated on the cross where He died for all of our sins.  It is also the word translated love in Ephesians 5:2. While we may not be asked to sacrifice our lives for someone else as Jesus did, it can mean unconditionally giving of ourselves in service for one another.  This level of love differs from philos love in that it expects nothing in return. 

The secular world is dominated by eros love where issues like gay marriage, abortion, and even transgenderism are major political issues.  Satan has unfortunately succeeded in deceiving many into believing gay marriage to be an issue about two people of the same sex loving one another when in reality it is about making it social acceptable for two people of the same sex to fulfill their eros lustful desires with each other (Romans 1:26-27).  Abortion is portrayed as a woman’s right to choose to have eros sex outside of marriage and should a pregnancy result, eliminate the problem by murdering the unborn baby.  Even transgenderism is portrayed as a person’s right to choose when the root desire may be for one to identify as the opposite sex so as to use their public restroom or shower to fulfill their eros lustful desires. 

While philos love is beneficial to society, it is not entirely selfless for usually each party in a friendship expects something in return for what they offer the other person.  Instead we as God’s people must strive to fulfill Ephesians 5:2 and walk in love imitating the sacrificial love of Christ by,

1)      Practicing love for one another in our churches – Unfortunately, there can be dissention among the diverse groups of people within our church walls.  This is unfortunate for when outsiders come into our churches and see this dissention, they see nothing different from the dissention they see in the world and therefore see little or no reason to be part of the Body of Christ.

2)      Sharing the good news of the Gospel – Bashing Christians is becoming a world sport so sharing the Gospel is scary for many, since it places us at risk of losing friendships or even our lives as it does in many parts of the world.  However, in Mark 16:15, we are commanded to sacrificially take this risk out of love for those lost and dying without Christ.  We must be willing to sacrificially risk being called homophobes and sexist by reaching out to those in the gay and transgender community with the loving message of the Gospel.  We must lovingly reach out to women contemplating or who have had an abortion by letting them know there are people willing to adopt their unborn baby and helping them to learn how to enjoy eros love within the context of marriage.

The best description of what the walk of love looks like is 1 Corinthians 13.  I want to encourage everyone reading this to take time to read 1 Corinthians 13 and begin to pattern their lives after its standard of agape love. 

1. weebly.com. Eros - What does the Bible say? lovevslust.weebly.com. [Online] Weebly.com. [Cited: January 31, 2017.] http://lovevslust.weebly.com/eros---biblical-study.html.

2. Totes Cute. The Three Types of Love in the Bible. totescute.com. [Online] Totes Cute. [Cited: January 31, 2017.] http://totescute.com/the-three-types-of-love-in-the-bible/.