User:Rockryder
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[edit] HAPPY VALENTINE
[edit] Valentines Day
This is the day when people expresses their love for each other. On this day flowers, roses, and shapes of hearts are all around.
So WHY do we do this? What's love? Is this the tingling feelings we feel for each other? Is Love the strong emotional feeling we feel when we first meet someone we fancy or like? Is the Love the intimate closeness we have with our friends and family?
The English language is very lose in the sense that in comparison to most Ancient languages like Hebrews and Greek it have a limited words in descirbing things. For example we uses the word LOVE to very loosely that, it's does not have strong specific meaning anymore. We use it to express feeling for people, objects and things are of interest to us.
In the Greek language there are about four different wording for LOVE.
These are:
[edit] PHILIA (φιλια)
This kind of love is used and expresses to show the Love between close friends.
This a strong bond between two or more people of the same or different gender who share a common interest or activity. This firendship is similar to that of a companionship. It is the least of all the other kind of loves as it based on having a something in similar in order to sustain it.
It has the least association with impluse or emotion, however as it based on the similarities of the friendship, it's mostly admirable, for it looked at the similarities of which the friednship was formed and not necessarily the individuals in the relationship. It therefore freed the individuals from self-consciousness.
For more Info read [The Four Loves] By C.S Lewis (Author of The Chronicles of narnia)
[edit] STORGE (στοργη)
This is an Affectionate kind of love. This is build on familiarity, especially between family members or relatives.
It's mostly describes as very emotive and natural. This is due to the familiarity and mostly the relationship the individulas share i.e being a relative.
This kind of love also pays least attentions to those characteristics deemed "valuable" or worthy of love and, as a result, is able to transcend most discriminating factors.
[See "The Four Loves"] for more details.
[edit] EROS (έρως)
This kind of love is used to described a romantic love a between a man and a woman. This is in the sense of "Being in Love". This kind of love involve sexual activity and feelings between the particpants, though it's distinct from sexuality.
This is good because it promotes appreciation of the beloved regardless of any pleasure that can be obtained from them. This often describes the love between marriage couples.
[See "The Four Loves"] for more details.
[edit] AGAPE (αγαπη)
This is also term as "Charity". This is the unconditional kind of love. The exact comprehenstion of this kind of love is actually beyound any man. This is because this kind of love derived from the kind of love God has for mankind.
It's the greatest of Loves and it is specifically Christian virtue. This kind of love does not based on anything but on the beloved. It gives all without hoping to get anything back. It loves an individual irrespective of whether it get that same love back or not.
According to Christinity, this is the kind of love in which God showed to humanity. God gave his only begotten son Jesus Christ for the sins of the world (John 3:16). God gave his son to redeem mankind from the bondage of sin. He did this to demonstrate his Love (agape) towards mankind. Humanity didn't deserve his love but he gave it anyway without looking to receiving the same kind of love.
So what makes this kind of love soo special and different from the others. To fully understand this is to understand it from God's point of view.
The Lord God Almighty, creator of heavens and Earth and evything in it. He created the earth for it to be inhabited. When He ceated man (humanity), He create us to live forever and have a relationship with Him. However when man rebelled against Him (sin), death and destruction came upon the earth and worst of all man was seperated from him because of sin.
Because He Is Love, he still desire to have relationship with humanity. However because of mankind sins, it is impossible for this relationship to work. So in order for this to work He has to do something about mankind sin. According to God nobody is good before him. For we have all sinned and fall short of the His glory.
Now let makes this more personal. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE A GOOD PERSON? Or More importantly DOES GOD THINK YOU ARE A GOOD PERSON?
To answer this is to ask yourself "HAVE I KEPT THE 10 COMMANDMENTS?" which is the standard of God's goodness.
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
Have you always put God first in your life? Jesus said to love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength-- so much, that your love for your parents, brothers and sisters, friends, and even your own life is like hatred compared to your love and devotion for God, (Luke 14:26). Have you ever failed to put Him first in your life?
2. You shall not make for yourself any idol.
This involves an idol made with hands or with our minds. Anything that we exalt before God is an idol in our lives. Any false representation of a god of our own making is an idol.
Have you ever broken this commandment?
3. You shall not take the name of God in vain.
Have you ever used God's name as a curse word? If you have, you've taken the holy name of God-- who gave you your life, your family, and everything, precious to you-- and used it as a filthy, four-letter word. This makes you a blasphemer.
Have you ever broken this commandment?
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
God commands that we set aside one day in seven. Have you ever been guilty of breaking this Commandment?
5. Honor your father and your mother.
Have you always honored your parents in a way that's pleasing in the sight of God? Ask Him to remind you of the sins of your youth. You may have forgotten them, but God hasn't.
Have you ever broken this commandment?
6. You shall not murder.
Jesus warned “Whoever is angry with his brother without cause, is in danger of judgment,” (Matthew 5:22) and the Bible says, “He who hates his brother is a murderer,” (1 John 3:15). God sees hatred in the heart to be as wicked as murder. We can violate His Law by attitude and intent.
Have you ever broken this commandment?
7. You shall not commit adultery.
Jesus warned, “You have heard…’You shall not commit adultery.’ But whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” (Matthew 5:28).
Have you ever broken this commandment?
8. You shall not steal.
Have you ever stolen anything (even if it was something small)? The value of the thing stolen doesn't matter; petty theft is still theft. If you have, that makes you a thief.
Have you ever broken this commandment?
9. You shall not lie.
Have you ever told a lie? Then you are a liar. If you have told even one lie, that makes you a liar.
Have you ever broken this commandment?
10. You shall not covet.
This means we should never desire anything that belongs to another person. Not their house, nor their car, nor their money, nor their wife, nor their lifestyle, nor anything that belongs to our neighbor. Have you ever broken this commandment?
And the Bible continues to say that “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10 said).
This is what God's means when he said All have sinned.
So if God Judges you by the 10 Commandments? Would you be innocent or guilty?
If you are Honest, you'll see that you are guilty of sinning against God Almighty?
Would you go to HEAVEN or HELL? based on the above statements? As long as you're guilty, then your destiby is Hell.
You see God knew that this was your punishment (Eternal seperation from Him) for sinning against him.
But because of his love for you, He did something so that you wouldn't have to spend eternity in hell.
Yeah, that right, He send Jesus to come and die for you. HOW IS THAT?
God poured the punishment that you and i deserve on Jesus Christ, so that we could be forgiven of all our sins and then be restored back to God. God is able to forgive us because the penelty of our sins had been paid in full on the cross through Jesus. So now through Jesus, we can turn to God and he can rightously accept us to himself.
All you have to do is ask him for it and He'll come and live within you.
Yes, Jesus didn't only died for us but He rose from the dead defeating death and now He lives forever in heaven waiting for the time to come for those who have accepted Him.
He gives life to all who will come to him. He's waiting for you, to call on him. This he gives freely to all who will believe.
That's the AGAPE LOVE.
[edit] References
- Anders Nygren
- Lewis, C.S. The Four Loves, Fount ISBN 0-00-628089-7
- The Way of the Master
