Agape

If I were to ask you the meaning of the word "agape," you would probably answer "love."

And you would not be incorrect.

However, this definition leaves a lot to be desired.

The English language only has 1 word for "love," regardless of the type of "love" being referred to.

The Greek language, on the other hand, contains 4 different words for "love," which each describe a different type of "love."

Agape- sacrificial love (true love)

Eros- romantic love (more than friendship)

Philia- friendship love (loyalty between friends)

Storge- affectionate love (parental love)

The problem lies in the translation from Greek to English because so much of the rich meaning behind the words is lost along the way.

Why am I telling you this?

Alot of the Bible (particularly the New Testament) was written in the original Greek language, which means that alot of the meaning behind the words was lost when it was translated to English (simply because our language does not contain a similar word sometimes).

For example, in John 3:16 where it says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son (Jesus) that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life," it contains the word "agape" in the original Greek.

Also, in 1 John 4 when it says, "God is love," it again contains the word "agape" in the original language.

Quite frankly, you need to understand this because it really gives you a true picture of God himself.

When the Bible refers to "agape" love as in these 2 instances, it is not talking about a fleeting love or loyalty or even the type of love that a parent has for a child (which is probably the strongest love we have humanly speaking).

It is referring to a much deeper, stronger love...a sacrificial, unconditional, true, God-sized love....the kind of love that led Jesus to the cross to die for us.

It is talking about the kind of love that will not fade no matter what we do. We cannot do anything to increase or decrease this kind of love.

In fact, only God himself is capable of "agape" love.

Where am I going with this?

Agape Pregnancy Resource Center chose to use the word "agape" in their name for these very reasons. They want the women who come to them to know the type of "love" that God has for each one of them, regardless of their situation.

In fact, when women come to them for free pregnancy tests, they take the time to share the gospel with them if the women are willing to hear it.

If the women are not pregnant, they take the time to counsel them so that they do not end up in an unwanted/unplanned pregnancy again.

If they are pregnant, they give them a free ultrasound with their consent to show them that the baby is in fact a life inside of them.

They try to encourage them to have the child and then give it up for adoption if they do not want to keep it, instead of having an abortion.

They even counsel women who are post-abortion to help them overcome the emotional trauma that abortion brings with it later in life.

They offer these women all kinds of counseling and classes, where they learn everything they need to know about "having a child" and "being a mom."

They even have a store full of new baby items for the women to "purchase" using the "mommy bucks" that they earned by attending classes.

They truly care for these women and want to help them.

How can you help this wonderful ministry?

1. Purchase 1 of our baby gifts and in return we will donate 1 baby gift to Agape!

2. You can also donate new baby items to Agape and they will put them in their "store" for the women to purchase with their "mommy bucks!"

3. You can even have a baby shower for Agape to collect baby items for them! We actually just did this last week with my MOPS group and it was SO much fun!

For more information on Agape Pregnancy Resource Center go HERE.