Eros: Romantic Love

The human spirit desires love and to be loved. Since God is Love, each one of us desires God and to be loved by God. Are we willing to accept that God loves us no matter what? Christian author Jack Zavada succinctly describes the four types of biblical love in a recent article. The word love describes an emotion with vastly differing degrees of intensity. They are communicated through four Greek words (Eros, Storge, Philia, and Agape) and are characterized by romantic love, family love, brotherly love, and God’s divine love. We’ll explore these different types of love in the Bible, and, as we do, we’ll discover what love truly means and how to follow Jesus Christ’s command to “love one another.“

Eros is the Greek word for sensual or romantic love. The term originated from the mythological Greek god of love, sexual desire, physical attraction, and physical love, Eros, whose Roman counterpart was Cupid. Love in the form of Eros seeks its own interest and satisfaction—to possess the object of love. God is very clear in the Bible that eros love is reserved for marriage.

Within the boundary of marriage, eros love is to be celebrated and enjoyed as beautiful blessing from God: Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of fleeting life that is granted you under the sun (Ecclesiastes 9: 9). The next devotion will highlight Storge love- family love.