Mention the word "February" and love is on my mind. How can it not be? Everywhere I look I'm seeing red--teddy bears, greeting cards, and heart-shaped boxes of chocolates.
I don't know about you, but when I was a little girl, I thought heart-shaped boxes were the bomb! Seriously. Have you ever seen anything as pretty as a red velvet box, shaped like a heart? And to think that they're filled with chocolates?! That's too much.
For years I waited for the day when I could call one of those babies my own. When I could hold the velvet in my hands, lift the lid, and be the first one to choose any or all of the chocolates I wanted. That's love.
My heart still skips a beat or two when I walk by a shelf of them, and I wonder who was the genius that came up with that marketing plan? They definitely knew what would catch our eye and capture our heart.
At least for a minute.
But here's the thing--if you want to capture somebody's heart for a lifetime, it takes more than a box of chocolates. They need the kind of love that ignites the fire and keeps it burning throughout the years.
This evening I got to reading Titus chapter 2:3-4 which says, "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children."
Here's where it got interesting. You see that little spot there where it says, "to love their husbands?" The Greek word for "love" there is "philos" meaning to be friends or to be friendly to someone.
The English language is complicated. I can't imagine the confusion that it must cause those who are trying to learn, it. We have one word for love, which says that I can love my husband, and love a cheeseburger at the same time. That's got to be confusing.
The Greeks on the other hand have more clarity in their language. When they're talking about love, they spell it out clearly using one of several different words.
Here are a four of them:
Agape - This is a sacrificial love, like the one we read about in 1 Corinthians 13
Eros - This is passionate love. The kind that makes your heart race.
Philia - Friendship or showing affection
Storge - Affection usually within family relationships
While a good marriage should have all of these characteristics of love working together I want to focus in on the one from Titus 2: Philia.
When God created man he noticed something about him, and that was the fact that Adam was alone. He needed someone to spend time with, someone he could confide in, someone he could laugh with, someone who was loyal, someone who would value him, and someone who would show him affection. God saw that He needed a companion and friend.
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him. - Genesis 2:18 And so with that in mind I've set out to capture Michael's heart. Not just for a day, a week or a year, but to really hold on to him with the bond of friendship.
God's gift to man in the garden that day reminds me that I'm not just someone that Michael fell in love with 24 years ago. I was put on this earth with the purpose of being his helper, his companion and friend--someone he can laugh with, someone he can confide in, and someone who values the man that he is.
Enjoy this week, ladies. And hey--don't eat too many chocolates y'all! ;)
You are loved by an almighty God,
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