Everybody, what is going on? You know what time it is. You're listening to join the Journey podcast

with your host, Emma Daughter. Thanks for joining. Our culture can define love as an unconditional

support or agreement. But how can Christians walk in love while standing up for and defending

that which the Bible says is true and clear.

In today's Devo, Laura helps us understand what Paul means when he uses the word love

after reminding us that this is Paul's letter to the believers in Corinth, who are struggling

to apply spiritual gifts appropriately and resist the ungodly practices of culture.

She says,

A lack of love was the root of most Corinthians' problems and divisions,

and Laura suggests it's the root of many cultural issues today.

All of us are gifted in different ways,

but what Paul writes is that gifts are meaningless,

if not used in love, or exercised in love. If we use our talent,

treasure, in time for our own benefit, which is self-seeking, we are not helpful to others

or glorifying God. That's 1 Corinthians 13, 1 through 3. Laura pointed out that Paul is not

addressing the emotion of love, but rather what we can refer to as agape love, which is

an unconditional in the sense that it does not depend on being loved in return. Now, here's what

you need to know. There are several different Greek words for love, and I am not a Greek scholar,

so my pronunciation might not be exactly right, but here's the gist. There's Fylia love, which is brotherly love and affection,

like you'd love a close friend. There's Eros, which is romantic love, Storgay, which is familial love,

like that of a mother for her baby or of a brother and sister for each other. And finally,

there's agape love, which is the one we're talking about here in this chapter.

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