{"id":23836,"date":"2024-06-13T10:41:28","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=23836"},"modified":"2024-06-13T10:41:28","modified_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:41:28","slug":"eros-and-agape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=23836","title":{"rendered":"Eros and Agape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Loving God, Loving Each Other- Gaither Vocal Band Lyrics\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wD3uKh8I9wA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Creation testifies to the overflowing energy of God\u2019s presence in our world. Our own generosity, our surprising ability to forgive, and our endless desire for more life all witness to this God-given energy [this eros] within us. \u00a0<\/strong><br>\u2014James D. Whitehead and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead, Holy Eros\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Richard Rohr considers expressions of love that exist in our passion for one another:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sexuality is a much broader mystery than its physical expression. It\u2019s an inner drive\u2014which some call\u202feros\u2014toward the other and beyond the small self. A commitment to celibacy doesn\u2019t negate this pull to give oneself to another. And at the same time someone can be sexually active and totally self-absorbed, which is not\u202feros\u202fat all, but merely \u201clustful.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Healthy intimate relationships take away our existential anxiety. Even without touch, true intimacy overcomes our feelings of separateness and insecurity: \u201cI\u2019m not attractive; I\u2019m not important; I\u2019m\u202fnot \u2026\u201d is our desperate and disparate state. Once someone affirms that we\u2019re lovable and enough for them, once <strong>we begin to deeply trust ourselves, then we discover that what we also desire is agape,\u00a0or divine love. Agape\u202fis much more inclusive and all-embracing than\u202feros. Yet agape builds on\u202feros\u202fand even deepens eros because it hugely expands our sense of True Self. Agape\u202flove includes and transcends all other genuine loves. [1]\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Womanist theologian Kelly Brown Douglas believes agape and human sexuality are connected:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Agape is God\u2019s love. It is an active love, the giving of oneself for the sake of justice and the building of an authentically human (loving) community.<strong> By perfectly manifesting agape, Jesus\u2019 life and ministry \u2026 reinforce the understanding that to reflect the image of God is to do nothing less than nurture loving relationships\u2026.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A positive embrace of human sexuality is critical to agape, and it is crucial for those who would radiate what it means to be created in the image of God. Human sexuality is what provides [us] with the capacity to enter into relationships with others. Sexuality is that dimension of humanity that urges relationship. <strong>Sexuality is a gift from God that, if properly appreciated, helps [people] to become more fully human by entering into loving relationships. [2]\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Douglas parallels God\u2019s eros and our own:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Human passion must be seen as more than lust or desire for sexual activity.\u2026 <strong>For me, passion \u2026 is that divine energy within human beings, the love of God, that compels them toward life-giving, life-producing, and life-affirming activity and relationships in regard to all of God\u2019s creation. <\/strong>So while passion certainly encompasses the biological production of life, it means more than that. It is a powerful, creative dynamism. It is a glimpse of God\u2019s perfect passion for life. <strong>Human passion is God\u2019s passion bursting forth from the human being as an insatiable desire to foster life in all aspects of one\u2019s living. <\/strong>Such an understanding and appreciation for human passion as a glimpse of God\u2019s own passion demand an embrace of human sexuality. [3]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>__________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sarah Young Jesus Calling<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am creating something new in you: a bubbling spring of Joy that spills over into others&#8217; lives. Do not mistake this Joy for your own or try to take credit for it in any way. Instead, <strong>watch in delight as My Spirit flows through you to bless others. Let yourself become a reservoir of the Spirit&#8217;s fruit.<\/strong><br>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<strong>Your part is to live close to Me, open to all that I am doing in you.<\/strong> <strong>Don&#8217;t try to control the streaming of My Spirit through you. Just keep focusing on Me as we walk through this day together. Enjoy My Presence, which permeates you with Love, Joy, and Peace.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>RELATED BIBLE VERSES:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>John 3:8 (NLT)<\/strong><br><strong><em>8<\/em>&nbsp;&#8220;The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can\u2019t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can\u2019t explain how people are born of the Spirit.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additional insight regarding John 3:8: Jesus explained that we cannot control the work of the Holy Spirit. He works in ways we cannot predict or understand. Just as you did not control your physical birthday, so you cannot control your spiritual birth. It is a gift from God through the Holy Spirit (mentioned in Romans 8:16; 1st Corinthians 2:10-12; 1st Thessalonians 1:5,6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Galatians 5:22 (NLT)<\/strong><br><strong><em>22<\/em>&nbsp;But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, &#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additional insight regarding Galatians 5:22-23: The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ&#8217;s control &#8211; we can&#8217;t obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our life to his (discussed in John 15:4-5). We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfill the intended purpose of the law &#8211; to love God and our neighbors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Creation testifies to the overflowing energy of God\u2019s presence in our world. Our own generosity, our surprising ability to forgive, and our endless desire for more life all witness to this God-given energy [this eros] within us. \u00a0\u2014James D. Whitehead and Evelyn Eaton Whitehead, Holy Eros\u00a0 Richard Rohr considers expressions of love that exist in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23836"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23837,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23836\/revisions\/23837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}