'Agape', the Greek word, is defined as "divine, unconditional, self-sacrificing, active, volitional, and thoughtful love".This is that love which God the Father demonstrated to us by sending His Son and the self same love which kept God the Son on the cross at Calvary.
The word 'love' today has become debased and devalued yet it is still meant to engage us.
'Love' today is a word of no real significance; it reflects pappy romance or seedy sexual encounters; it is a word derived from a sentimentalist world view and is both fleeting and impermanent.
Being 'in love' is little more than a feeling or a shaking up of hormones - little wonder that one marriage in three will end in divorce.
Does 'love' today ever represent sacrifice or dedication or must it always be transient?
The important thing is that 'love' is still recognised as vital yet people do not understand its true nature; they prefer a poor copy. Unlike what the Beatles sang - 'All you Need is Love' - a spiritual base is required or love gets lost in the translation.I shudder to think of the adulteries, the crimes and the many betrayals which have been perpetrated in the name of 'love'. Even the stories about the Trojan War are a simple, bad example.
In the TV series 'Becker', the restaurant owner, Reggie, receives a soppy Valentine Bunny from her boyfriend emblazoned with "I wuv you".
Her response was - "He doesn't even know what 'wuv' is."
Quite.
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