A friend of mine and I recently debated the difference between liking someone and loving them. His take: You can't love someone without liking them. My response: Loving someone doesn't require that you like them.
But I may be wrong.
What is Agape Love?
It's been noted that ancient Greeks had as many as 7 different words for love. Greek City Times identifies 8 words. C.S. Lewis, in his seminal thought piece The Four Loves discusses only four of them. The highest of these, he says, is agape.
But what is agape?
Agape is commonly defined as charitable love. It's the kind of love that causes a God to send His son to pay the sin debt for all humanity. It's love without conditions. A love that impels an individual to overcome all obstacles that get in the way of a healthy relationship despite whatever pain it brings. True Godly love forces me to consider that I might be wrong even when I think I'm right, and that's why I concede that my friend may be onto something. Perhaps it is impossible to love someone and not like them. A Godly love should drive us to like someone even if they behave in unlikeable ways.
God forgive me. I need to pray that prayer that leads to internal change. Will you pray with me?
Allen Taylor is the author of I Am Not the King.
