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ἀγάπη Agape
Translated “love” in English, agape is a very significant Greek word, especially for understanding the Bible. Agape is purposeful, other-centered, unconditional, self-sacrificial love. It helps to compare agape with the other 3 koine Greek terms for love:
- Eros = passionate love; sensual desire.
- Storge = natural, familial affection.
- Philia = loyal, brotherly friendship love.
- Agape = purposeful, other-centered, unconditional, self-sacrificial love.
As C.S. Lewis observed in his book The Four Loves, the other 3 types of love are affected by circumstances. Scared people who live in a terrifying world can’t just conjure up eros. Sometimes your philadelphia pals are the ones who stab you in the back. Even storge gets strained when life is hard, and families can fall apart.
But agape is different. It is an unconditional choice. It is purposeful. It doesn’t worry about self because it’s other-centered and self-sacrificial. Agape is unconditional, so the environmental situation doesn’t matter.
Māori
A member of our church recently sent me a great note on agape:
A friend of mine, Jonathan Dove, pastors a church in Auckland, New Zealand. In their services they often use Māori words during their music and sermons. Recently, you talked about agape love, which clicked a memory of a Māori phrase that I think describes agape love perfectly. In Māori it is Kia aroha noa (key-ah ah-row-ah no-ah) which translates “love without limits.”
Let there be no limits to our love. Amen.
God bless,
Wayne