Living in Increase (Part 2) - Increase in LoveSample

Friendly Love

The Bible also discusses the importance of the love between friends, or philia love. In our verse for today, “brotherly affection” is the original Greek word philadelphia, which represents the love between brothers or sisters or the love between Christians who “cherish each other as brethren.” The word “Philadelphia” is familiar to many of us as a city in the United States, which is no coincidence! William Penn, who founded Philadelphia, purposefully named this city for its Greek definition, hoping it would be a city of “religious tolerance where no one would be persecuted” (Satullo, 2023). In other words, the name “Philadelphia” represented a place of love and tolerance for each other.

Philia, in short, represents the “encompassing love for fellow humans” and “close friendship” (Zavada, 2020), and the Bible has a lot to say about the relationship between friends. Proverbs 18:24 says, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Romans 12:10 encourages us to try our best to “outdo one another in showing honor.” Simply put, we love people well and build close friendships by trying to outdo each other in showing love and respect.

While Jesus is the best Friend we could have, we all need people who will stick closer than a brother. If you want to begin or build strong friendships today, start by putting philia love in action! This could be sending an encouraging text message, praying for someone, or speaking well of that person in public. As you take these steps, thank God for the gift of friendship He’s given us!

Emily N. Green

Sources

Satullo, C. (2011, March 20). City of brotherly love. The encyclopedia of greater philadelphia. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/themes/city-of-brotherly-love/
Zavada, J. (2020, June 10). Philia meaning: The love of close friendship in greek. Learn religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-philia-700691

Action Step: Join a Small Group at your local church or find a group of godly friends to meet with regularly.