By Sarah R. Enterline
If you audibly heard the following, “gar theos houto agapao ho hay to kosmos hoceteh didomee howto monogenace hweeos hinah pas pisteuo eis owtos may apollumi alla ekho aionios zoe,” you would think “it’s all Greek to me” and for once that phrase would be meant literally. The above is indeed Greek and it is actually something that every Christian knows by heart: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16, NKJV).
The love that God has for the world is something that is under attack today and we as apologists need to be aware of it. It is not something that comes up in apologetic circles as often as something like predestination, but it is something that is completely misunderstood outside the church (which is where we should be doing apologetics anyways). Many look at the world today and think, where is God in the midst of all this suffering? How can He let these earthquakes kill and devastate so many people? What about child trafficking and abuse? Then follows the age-old question: How can a loving God allow people to suffer? People ask that and then form the following conclusion: Either there is no God, or He is not the type I want to serve. And then they walk away.
There are many excellent resources out today that cover the topic “If God, why Evil?” like Dr. Geisler’s book bearing the same title. What I think is missing is a proper understanding of the word LOVE. In the Greek language, there are five words for love. In English, we have one. Love. That’s it. One word to cover your feelings for chocolate, your goldfish Goldie, the children of your womb, and God. No wonder people have so much trouble defining it. So, we turn to the Greek language to see how it is done.
The first four are defined by the recipient of the love. Meaning it is based on the object of the love, or the one on the receiving end of the affection.
First, there is philanthropia. Its object is mankind. It is kindness or caring for overall good of the human race. It is also where we get the word philanthropist, which is usually a wealthy person who gives to humanitarian efforts, missions, etc… to better the society. Usually, the philanthropist does not want to marry these people or die for them, but they still care about their well-being so they give from afar.
The second type of love is known as phileo. Its
object is friends or acquaintances, maybe even coworkers. It is an unselfish
love, and is ready to serve. It is where we got the name for the city of
Philadelphia, the city of “brotherly love.”
The third is storge. Its object is family. It is a natural, almost
built-in affection for those that life has decided to bond you with forever. It
is incredibly strong, and can also be a point of weakness for some. The people
you have storge love for, especially your children, can be
someone you would give your life for.
The fourth is called eros. Its object is your spouse. It is a romantic love, where we get the word “erotic”. This is one of the strongest relationships you can have because you love them the most. It is the person you are going to marry and spend the rest of your life with (you hope), and also is someone you would consider dying for.
All of these types of love are worthy of respect, however, they can all fail you. Why? Because the love is based on the object of the love, which most of the time, is a fallible human being. They fail to love you back or give you commendation, or cut you out of the family for whatever reason. This is not God’s love.
We cannot measure God’s love by our standards of love because His love is NOT based on us, the object. If it was, He would have pulled the plug on us a long time ago. WE sinned, not God. We were made perfect in His image, and WE walked away and into sin, creating a gulf that no one can scale. Except Him.
This brings us to the fifth kind of love, known as agape. It is defined, not by the recipient of the love, like the first four, but by the Giver of the love. It is never-ending, unconditional, worth- dying for love. The Giver of this love is our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the definition. No matter what happens, He will always remain.
If this is true, then it begs another question: if there is suffering and evil in the world and if it is not God’s fault (logically due to His benevolent nature it cannot be), who is letting down their end of the bargain? The answer is simple, for “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” (Edmund Burke). It is on us to do what we can to make the world a better place for all who inhabit it. If everyone truly loved one another as God loves us, evil would cease to exist. Just as the dark is a privation or lack of light, evil is a privation or lack of good. The world we live in today is not caused by God, nor is it ignored by Him. Because God is immutable, meaning He is eternally everything He ever was, He still loves us and seeks to repair that relationship with us. So He sent His Son, who defeated evil and allows us to do the same by acknowledging His work on the cross. But He also calls us to be holy and Christ-like, which includes loving others more than ourselves. If you love others more than yourself, logic dictates that you won’t hurt them or commit evil against them.
“Beloved, let us love (agape) one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love . In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:7-12)
So, commit to truly loving others. Put them before yourself, and encourage others to do the same. If everybody did that, the world would be a much better place.