The British author C. S. Lewis is known for writing about many things. Magic wardrobes, talking animals, and Christian apologetics are just a few of his well-known subjects. But many don’t know that Lewis often thought about the Biblical idea of love. He found particular nuances of the idea in the pages of Scripture. He saw something “other-worldly” about the biblical presentation of love – God’s love. This love is expressed most clearly in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, where God Himself came to redeem the very people who hated and rejected Him, even to the point of crucifying Him. 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son” – John 3:16

To Lewis, this love is the basis for all other kinds and forms of human loves. Lewis started to categorize his discoveries about Christian love into two groups depending on what was motivating it. 

The first kind of love is Gift-love.

Gift-loves are those loves that are free, uncoerced, and without conditions. They are seen as generous, without boundaries or limits, and are life-giving. God is the only One who truly possesses this love, for “In God there is no hunger that needs to be filled, only plenteousness that desires to give.” Our human ability to exhibit gift-love is only by way of analogy. It’s only a failed picture of God’s actual love. We see this in a way that a parent daily cares for the needs of their child, in the passing kiss of a spouse, or in the favor done for a stranger. 

The second kind of love is Need-love. 

While Gift-love is free and spontaneous, Need-love is riddled with need and reciprocity. These loves can be riddled with longing, greed or desperation. Often, they are motivated by a sense of lack or insecurity. For instance, a child might express love for his father who returned from a long business trip by giving him a big hug. Or, perhaps the way an alcoholic thanks the bartender for his first pint of the evening. 

At this point, you may be tempted to dismiss the importance of need-loves in place of a more inflated view of gift-loves, and you’d be quite right! Only gift-love is truly transformative. As Lewis says, “need-love cries to God from our poverty; Gift-love longs to serve, or even to suffer for God.” However, Lewis wants us to consider the necessity of need-loves to clarify the ultimate design for God’s gift-love. Why did the child run into the returning father’s arms? Why did our thirsty friend take the time to speak to his supplier? Why did you really snuggle closer to your wife in bed last night? Why did you stop through your favorite drive-through for a bite? Why did you come here tonight? 

Need-loves keep us from aimlessly floating in a world of isolation and awaken us to the need of those around us who have the capacity to love. Need-loves force us to look to each other for something we can’t get for ourselves. We’re dependent creatures who need the love of others. Need-loves show us our ultimate need for God’s Gift-love. In this way, the lesser loves serve as a foundation for the greater love – namely, God’s love for us in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. Our need for love along with our human inability to meet those needs for one another proves that we need God’s love. And thankfully, He gives us His love freely.