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The Storge word (pronounced stor-Jay) is a Greek word that refers to the relationship that exists between mother, father, son, daughter, sister, and brother in Christianity.
“Cherishing one’s relatives, especially parents or children; the mutual love of parents and children and wives and husbands; loving affection; prone to love; loving sensitively; chiefly of the reciprocal tenderness of parents and children.” According to the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon.
Parents all over the world prioritize their children’s health and safety, as well as providing them with the emotional and practical proper resources as adults and transmitting ideological and cultural values. No one argues that a high-quality parent-child relationship is essential for both parties’ healthy development, but successfully identifying the source of the love found between parent and child is more difficult.
Parents frequently struggle to define their child’s love. The act of labor and the precise moment of birth alter many people’s perspectives on life. It reframes the conventional explanations for why we are here. It explains what our life’s purpose is. In a nutshell, this bond is spiritual and personal for both the parent and the child.
Storge, with its familial roots and focus on eternal love, may not explain why parents and children share the uniqueness of bonds, but it cannot be dismissed as an explanation of why love is love. The philosophy of love, like many other principles of Ancient Greek civilization ranging from mathematics to medicine to seafaring, has withstood the test of time, and an idea like storge continues to maintain its relevance across borders and generations of parents and children.
The word “love” has many meanings in English, but the ancient Greeks had four words to describe different types of love; eros, philia, agape, and storge.
The specific Greek term Storge, like eros, does not appear in the Bible. In the New Testament, however, the opposing form is used twice. The Astorgos meaning is “Without love, devoid of affection, without affection to kindred, hard-hearted, unfeeling.” They found Astorgos in the book of 2 Timothy and Romans.
It described unrighteous individuals as “foolish, faithless, heartless, and ruthless”. The Greek word translated in “heartless” is astorgos.
It described the disobedient generation of the last days as “heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, harsh, not loving good” in 2 Timothy 3:3. Again, astorgos is used to translate “heartless.”
In Romans 12:10, a compound form of storge is found:
“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
The Greek word for “love” in this verse is philostorgos, which combines philos and storge. It means, “loving dearly, being devoted, being very affectionate, and loving in a way characteristic of the relationship between husband and wife, mother and child, father and son, etc.”
We can find a lot of examples of family love and affection in Scripture, such as Noah and his wife’s love and mutual protection for their sons- and daughters-in-law in Genesis; Jacob’s love for his sons and the powerful love the sisters Martha and Mary had for their brother Lazarus in the gospels.
The family was an important part of Jewish culture in the ancient world. God commands his people to do the following in the Ten Commandments:
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)”
When a person becomes a follower of Jesus Christ, he or she becomes a member of God’s family. Something more powerful than physical ties: the bonds of the Spirit link the believers’ lives. God exhorts his family to love one another with the fervor of storge love:
“Therefore, I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Try to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. (Ephesians 4:1–3)”
Scripture teaches Christians to walk in love, including the familial affection of storge:
“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Philia (Pronounced: FILL-ee-uh) is the type of intimate love described in the Bible that most Christians have for one another. This Greek term describes the strong emotional bond found in close friendships.
Philia is derived from the Greek noun phlos, which means “beloved, dear… a friend; someone dearly loved (prized) in a personal, intimate way; a trusted confidant held dear in a close bond of personal affection.” Philia expresses love through her experiences.
Philia is the most general type of love found in the Bible, encompassing love for one’s fellow humans as well as care, respect, and compassion for those in need. Christianity is the only religion that has the concept of brotherly love that unites believers. Jesus predicted that philia would be used to identify his followers:
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
Philia, the final of the four loves Ancient Greek, means emotionally attached regard, friendship, normally between colleagues. Aristotle, the best-known student of Plato, understood philia in several ways. His beliefs were based on friendship, family, and being loyal to the community, as well as relationships based on virtue, equality, and familiarity. Have you ever heard that saying “brotherly love”? If this is the case, you understand the guiding principle of philia as well as the context in which it is used correctly.
Christianity is the only religion that has the concept of brotherly love that unites believers. We are family in a special way as members of Divine love.
Christians belong to one family, the body of Christ; God is our Father, and we are all brothers and sisters. We should have a warm and devoted love for one another that captivates the interest and attention of unbelievers.
We can only see this close union of love among Christians in others as members of a natural family. Believers are family not in the traditional way, but in a case that is distinguished by an unrivalled love. This one-of-a-kind expression of love should be so appealing that it draws others into God’s family:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35)
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Agape (pronounced uh-GAH-pay) is the highest of the four types of love described in the Bible. This phrase expresses God’s unfathomable, incomparable love for humanity. God’s divine love is manifested in this way. Agape love is perfect, unconditional, sacrificial, and unadulterated love.
In the way he lived and died, Jesus Christ showed this kind of divine love to his Father and to all humanity:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Jesus asked the apostle Peter if he loved him after his resurrection (agape). Peter replied three times that he did, but he used the word phileo, which means “brotherly love” (John 21:15–19). At Pentecost, Peter had not yet received the Holy Spirit, so he was incapable of agape love. However, after Pentecost, Peter was so filled with God’s love that he spoke from the heart, and 3,000 people were converted.
Love is one of the most powerful emotions a person can feel. For Christian believers, the truest test of genuine faith is love. The Bible teaches us how to experience love in all of its forms and to share it with others in how God intended.
The highest form of love is referred to as agape love. It is known as “God’s Love” in Christian circles. It is the place where God will unwaveringly love you with intense, unconditional love, no matter how bad you feel about yourself or what wrongs you have committed. In this context, God’s love is “unconditional.”
That is the kind of love we want to learn how to give to others, rain or shine. The love that we feel and continue to cultivate.
We must learn to control our minds in order to show our love. Whatever happens, we must gear every thought towards happiness and love. And this entails truly forgiving, accepting, and refusing to blame, condemn, criticize, or judge others. If our goal is to realize storge love, we can learn to love others no matter what they do or say to us by controlling our minds.
Their own definition of love shaped everyone’s relationships and attitudes towards others. But all love emanates from the same source: God. My understanding of love has developed into a quest to learn how to give the highest form of love.
And storge love is not for everyone. It’s for God, those on the path to enlightenment, and those who want to show their spouse “unconditional” love. True unconditional love, from what I’ve discovered, comes with no conditions or expectations. It is never cruel. It never irritates us. The person is never impatient. Our life’s goal is storge love, which we believe is the ultimate state of all existence.
Dear, Lord! I’ll never be able to express my gratitude enough for going to the agonizing Cross for sinners like me. For demonstrating the unselfish, self-sacrificial love that might lead to the death of a friend. If I follow your order to love others, you tell me I am your friend. Father, there are many hard people in our lives who make our lives difficult and do not share our beliefs.
Kindly help me in replacing my hatred with love. My dislike towards love. With love, I pass judgment. Love has disappointed me. With affection, I express my displeasure. My pain was caused by love.
Help me to love my fellow brothers and sisters with a holy love that sees the good in people who are different from me. I pray for my loved ones to achieve in life what you desire for each of them, even if it is not what I believe is best.
Allow me to see others through your eyes, Father. Teach me how to be the best witness you could ever have. Put the words in my lips and smooth down any rough edges in my heart and face. I’m not always patient when it comes to love. Love is forgiving, and I’m not always forgiving.
Please, Lord, love people through me despite my shortcomings. Bring me closer to you so that I can see the potential that you see in others.
Thank you, Lord, for lavishly loving me despite my worthy status. Let me go ahead and do the same. I pray in your wonderful, loving name, Amen.
1 John 3:16-18 says:
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them. How can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
Actions speak louder than words.
Words are not as powerful as actions.
Storge love — it perfectly describes Jesus Christ’s love for God the Father and all of His followers.
God promises to always love us and to give eternal life to anyone who believes in Him.
Saint Augustine taught that faith in Christ makes us one with the Church’s community, and that all Christians should strive for the unity of all people.
In reference to Ephesians 3:14, Saint Augustine proposed that we can truly know Christ’s love by bowing our knees and loving God the Father.
Saint Thomas Aquinas pondered Christ’s perfect love for humanity and God’s sacrifice of His only son, Jesus, to save the world.
According to Aquinas, “perfect love” casts out fear, and Christ had no fear because his love was perfect. Aquinas advised Christians to avoid distractions that could separate them from their love of Christ.
Perfect love, according to Saint Teresa of Avila, is an imitation of Christ’s love. This entails being constantly aware of God’s unconditional love for us.
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