At our weekly Teen devotional last Saturday we had the amazing opportunity to eat some great food, go swimming, enjoy a bonfire, and have a great spiritual lesson and discussion to end the night. The topic of the discussion was Love. What is love? Interestingly enough, the bible has four different greek words for love. They are agape, phileo, storge, and eros.
Agape – Agape is called out of one’s own heart for the preciousness of the object loved. It is the idea of prizing. It is the noblest word for love in the Greek language and this type of love keeps loving even when the loved one is unresponsive or unkind. This love has a consuming passion for the well being of others and moves one to action. Agape is used 320 times in the bible.
Example: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life “(John 3:16)
Phileo – Phileo is to have a special interest in someone or something, frequently with focus on close association; have affection for, like, consider someone a friend
Example: “Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith” (Titus 3:15)
Storge – Storge is a natural affection or natural obligation. It is a natural movement of the soul towards family members. This is a quiet, abiding feel within someone that rests on something close to them that they feel good about.
Example: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10).
Eros – Eros is a love of passion, an overmastering passion that seizes and absorbs itself into the mind. This has to do with attraction and passion more than anything. It is a conditional form of love.
You don’t have to settle for anything less than Agape love! Nothing compares!
These were some of our discussion questions from our time together:
- Which one do you think we see the most of in school?
- Agape Love – is it hard to have this type of love?
- Why is it so hard to have Agape love? Why is it easier to have other types of love?
- How can we grow in this Agape love?
Challenge for the teens: To grow in our Agape love towards God and towards others and do something kind for someone who can be difficult to love.
Moving Hearts:
Hearts are moved where there is love
- Teens need relationships.
- Care about their struggles, daily life, school.
- initiate with them and let them know its okay for them to initiate with you.
- Spend time to encourage them outside of church related events.
- Take an interest in something about them and their world.
John 13:34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Thank you to all the families who have hosted teen events throughout the summer thus far!
