The Fourth Kind

More than half of marriages don’t work today because there’s a misconception – an ignorance – about what love is. The complexity of love can’t be defined by just one word or one emotion. C.S. Lewis identified four different kinds of love. The first is Affection, which is the kind that most relationships start with. The second kind of love is Friendship. Friendship should be the foundation of all love relationships. Next is Erotic love. It’s perhaps the most proliferated and misguided kind. The only healthy and pure application of this love is between a husband and a wife. Outside the bounds of marriage, it’s reckless and damaging. These first three types are self-serving and “me-focused.” Easily forgotten is a fourth type, Agape love, which Lewis called the “Divine-Gift-Love.” This kind of love always desires the best for people, even those who are unlovable. It’s the kind of love that God has for us, an unconditional, sacrificial love that has no limits or expectations.