Affectionate Love (Storge)

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Romans 12:10

¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

(ESV)

While the abortion debate in the United States has always been controversial, it has recently escalated to a level that is unimaginable and abhorrent to those that value life.  The recent escalation revolves around the lowering of abortion restrictions in Virginia and comments by Virginia Governor Northam.  In an interview asking what happens if a third trimester infant surviving an abortion is born, what happens to the newly born infant?  Governor Northam said, “the infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”  (1)  Lost in the governor’s comments is the fact of the birth of a viable infant and the possibility of allowing the infant to die without resuscitation if that is the mother’s desire. 

The first of the Greek words for love in our study on love is the Greek word storge or affectionate love.  (2)  Our first exposure to this type of love is usually the affectionate caress of our mothers after our birth, something a baby surviving an abortion in Virginia may not receive should this proposal become law.  This newborn baby is born dependent on others to show need love, meeting their basic needs.  Even though the individual will not remember these initial caresses when they mature, they are crucial for providing comfort to the new born that has just entered a strange and foreign world.  Please pray the proposal in Virginia, and similar proposals in other states, do not become law. 

Our heavenly Father is the perfect example of affection for He, did not destroy humanity after their sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3).  In fact, in Genesis 3:15 God actually affectionately promises a savior to provide salvation and forgiveness of sins.  The most known and quoted verse in the Bible is John 3:16.  The words of this verse, spoken by Jesus, the Son of God, actually represent a statement of His purpose for coming.  Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plan to redeem humanity and not destroy them, demonstrating God’s grace, mercy, and affectionate storge love for His creation.

When we accept Jesus as our personal savior, we become part of the family of God (Romans 8:15).  For this reason, people in the church often refer to each other as brothers and sisters.  It is this level of affectionate love spoken of by the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:10.  This affectionate familial love for one another is not only commanded by God but demonstrates we are disciples of Christ (John 13:34-35).  In a divisive world, people seeing affectionate love for one another by members of the Church is attractive. 

However, as we will see with the other loves, there are boundaries for each love.  Affectionate storge love is beneficial as ones first exposure to love after birth, and something the world will want when observed in the interaction between brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ.  However, if affection oversteps its boundaries and becomes an Eros or erotic love between people of the opposite sex, it damages relationships, especially one’s relationship with God.  This includes not only adultery but also even adulterous thoughts (Matthew 5:28).  This is especially true for leaders in the Church as storge love for one another, something lacking in a divisive world becomes perverted into something those outside the church either abhor or view as the Church being no different than the rest of the world. 

A divided world with little regard for the sanctity of life needs to witness the church showing storge or affectionate love for one another (Romans 12:10).  However, this demonstration of love must also honor one another by staying within its biblical boundaries of affectionate familial love for one another mirroring the affection God showed humanity by sending His Son, Jesus.  Next Wednesday, our study of love takes us to friendship, a level of love that some do not even consider love at all.

1. North, Anna. The controversy around Virginia’s new abortion bill, explained. www.vox.com. [Online] Vox, February 1, 2019. [Cited: March 26, 2019.] https://www.vox.com/2019/2/1/18205428/virginia-abortion-bill-kathy-tran-ralph-northam.

2. Zavada, Jack. What Is Storge? eee.thoughtco.com. [Online] Thoughtco, December 06, 2018. [Cited: March 26, 2019.] https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-storge-love-700698.