Types of Love

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III teaches that love is the origin of existence because it is God. Before creation love alone existed, and with the creation of angels and humans love entered the beings. After the fall new loves entered man: love of matter (the lusts of food and sight), love of self/greatness, and love of the body, while spiritual love and the love of God remained as the higher examples.
The lecture explains that since the fall man is contested by these five loves, and the spiritual life is a struggle to purify the heart so that divine love remains within it. Pure spiritual love — like the love of spouse or children — is acceptable but on the condition that it does not exceed the love of God.
Biblical examples are cited: Adam’s fall as a result of lusts and the glorification of the self; Abraham’s test when he was asked to offer his son; and also the upbringing by Moses’ mother as an example of the effect of spiritual nurture in the child’s heart.
Practical teaching calls us to reassess all that we love — what is the value of things in our view? Is the love of God first? Do we give God our time and attention? We must rid ourselves of self-love and worldly goals that steal the heart, and transform our loves so that they are within the love of God, leading to the salvation of souls and the building of God’s kingdom.
The summit of love is that a person makes God alone his desire and longing, like the angels and saints and those who devoted themselves to God; the Church honors the martyrs, monks, and hermits who sacrificed everything for God. Therefore we must review our love daily and work on the growth of God’s love in our hearts.
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