For today’s marriage monday segment, I thought I would return to the subject of love. Recently, Meg and I found out we are expecting (a child) again. These are really exciting days as we think about God’s blessing of children happening to us. I remember announcing this to the leadership and some of were quick to remind me about love.
In his book The Life of A God-Made Man, Dan Doriani writes a chapter on “The Three Faces of Love.” Our men recently studied this in SS. To summarize the content, Doriani believes “a healthy marriage will manifest 3 faces of love, labeled by the Greek words agape, philia, and eros. Agape is the selfless, sacrificial, Christlike love that touches stranger, neighbor, enemy, friend, child, and spouse alike. Philia is attraction for a special friend whom we admire due to shared interests or skills, due to their humor or intellect, or due to their personality or approach to life. Eros is romantic, sensual love, when fingertips and lips pulse at the thought of contact. Marriage thrives when these three forms of love join together. (p.69)”
I jokingly reminded the men who told me to love my wife, that eros got me in this position, philia would get me through the next 9 months, and I would definitely need agape come delivery day. Honestly, though, all these different loves need to pervade all of our marriages. As we seek to love our wives as Christ loved the church, we will pursue loving in a way that honors Him and serves our wives before ourselves. Men, remember to love your wife today!