Luke 6:27-28
But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
The Greeks recognized four different kinds of love: Storge (affection), Phileo (friendship or brotherly love), Eros (erotic love) and Agape (unconditional or divine love). All are good, but if they are preferred to agape, they can become demonic (as we see when people care more about their dog than their children, or form snobbish cliques with disdain for the hoi polloi, or allow their passion to destroy their marriages and lives). The key to sanity in all our loves is to submit them to the love of God who loves, not because we are lovable, but because he is love. Such love meets its test in loving the unlovable. Anybody”indeed, any puppy”can have affection. Anyone can like those who like them. Anyone can fall in love. But only those empowered by the Spirit can love the abusive, warped, stunted, and truculent.
