" There are three words in the Greek language for love, one is the word eros. This is a beautiful type of love, it is an aesthetic love. Plato talks about it a great deal in his Dialogue, the yearning of the soul for the realm of the divine. It has come to us to be a sort of romantic love, and so in a sense we have read about it and experienced it. We've read about it in all the beauties of literature. I guess in a sense Edgar Allan Poe was talking about eros when he talked about his beautiful Annabel Lee with the love surrounded by the halo of eternity. In a sense Shakespeare was talking about eros when he said ` Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken; it is the star to every wandering bark. . . .´ (You know, I remember that because I used to quote it to this little lady when we were courting; that's eros.)
The Greek language talks about Philia which was another level of love. It is an intimate affection between personal friends, it is a reciprocal love. On this level you love because you are loved. It is friendship.
Then the Greek language came out with another word which is called the agape. Agape is more than romantic love, agape is more than friendship. Agape is understanding, creative, redemptive, goodwill to all men. It is an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. Theologians would say that it is the love of God operating in the human heart. So that when one rises to love on this level, he loves men not because he likes them, not because their ways appeal to him, but he loves every man because God loves him. And he rises to the point of loving the person who does an evil deed while hating the deed that the person does. I think this is what Jesus meant when he said ` love your enemies.´
I'm very happy that he didn't say like your enemies, because it is very difficult to like someone bombing your home; it is pretty difficult to like somebody threatening your children; it is difficult to like congressmen who spend all of their time trying to defeat civil rights. But Jesus says love them, and love is greater than like. Love is understanding, redemptive, creative, goodwill for all men. "
- Martin Luther King Jr. Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience
i thought this was really cool :)
~ginger
3 comments:
I adore the last part. My mother raised me to never hate anyone, because hate is such a strong feeling and it takes a lot of energy to feel that way about a person for whom you do not care for. I like to that loving someone is a lot harder than liking someone because love is stronger and a lot harder to feel for someone.
With that said, I love you guys. Best of luck, you all seem to be on a smashing start. I've bookmarked this blog to my daily updates favorites and I can't wait to read and see more from you all. Emily, watch over your gang and I pray for all your safety. If anyone can change the world just a little bit for the better, it will be you four. God speed love Each One! Best of luck!! <3
You guys rock! I'll be looking at the trail you guys leave through this. It's inspiring, and that's an understatement. Good luck, and keep on going!
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