Eros

(In response to chapter 3 of The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis and 1 Corinthians 13)

If I do anything but have not love, then I have nothing. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a) If we take this definition of what love is, and we take what we know about God--that God IS love-- then we can use this as a definition of who God is. God does not keep any records of wrongs, he always protects us, and he never ever fails. The Bible has presented us with a perfect definition of what love is. 1 Corinthians 13 describes what we should be looking for in a relationship, this is what we desire, and should strive for. We must keep this in mind while we read and discern the meaning of C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves.

"Very often what comes first is simply a delighted pre-ocupation with the Beloved," I believe this fits into a working definition of what love is in the fact that it is first an unexplainable joy rather than a deep love that develops first.

Lewis goes on to develop a term called Eros. This term I believe describes what love should be. Lewis says that "Sexual desire, without Eros, wants it (my emphasis), the thing in itself, Eros wants the Beloved." I believe that this refers to sex as an object, or desiring the person as an object to perform a task, rather than desiring the person in order to have a dynamic relationship. We must be careful not to become creatures driven by sexual desires. "We must not attempt to find an absolute in the flesh."

I did find it interesting to hear the take on nakedness. He made reference that naked was the past action of naking, meaning to become naked. If this is true then man is not meant to be naked, rather he had to change his state in order to become naked. When we were created we were created naked. However, this term, no the realization of our nakedness came into being until after the fall. So, before the fall we were perfectly right to be naked, but after the fall we have become changed beings and therefore must accommodate our change and cloth ourselves.

This reading shed light on one way and description of love. It was interesting to read. It makes me look forward to what is to come, and what can be realized in life.