Our mission verse states that it was because of His great Love for us that God sent His son, Jesus, to die for us.
What then does it mean to love someone or something?
As expected, we thought immediately of our families and our mothers in particular. Our family loves us and we love them – even our brothers and sisters and ancient grandparents we have to kiss at Christmas. Some of the reasons for our love for family (familial love) are
1 – They care for us (Food, Clothing, Shelter)
2 – They know us and accept us
3 – The can never be replaced
4 – They Love us! – it is easy to love someone who loves you.
We also discussed our Friendships and Love for others. This is an instinctive love for all other called compassion and empathy. We don’t like to see others suffer or in pain and distress. Unfortunately friends, even very good friends, come and go throughout our lives.
Eros is the Love we have for the opposite sex and the love we have for our partner and (one day) our spouse. This is a very special and strong love bond which must not be taken lightly and we must be careful and responsible to whom we extend such Love.
We also have a love of things, of activities and of many other things such as style, taste, music, sport and such. We need to be very cautious that we do not confuse the love between man and woman as just an activity. Objective Love, Unlike Eros, is very fleeting and fickle and changes almost all the time as we change and society changes. Suddenly that trendy sweater is, “so last year…”
Finally there is Agape love – a mother’s love. This is a totally unconditional love without reason or any expectation. This is how God loves us – for no reason – nothing we have done or even can do – we cannot earn it and we definitely don’t deserve it. God’s Agape loves last forever – we cannot lose it – we just need to accept it, celebrate it and live our lives surrounded by it.
As we, teenagers, enter into a new phase of life, we realize everything is changing, Our schools, our friends, our wants and goals, our bodies and emotions and our viewpoints and understanding of the human politic around us. As children of God it is vital that we know that God and His Agape love for us Never changes. He accepts us as we are. We do not have to impress Him or dress a certain way or do anything – He loves us.
Every morning, when brushing your teeth, look in the mirror, beyond everything you see and say, “Thank you Lord for loving me no matter what…I love you!