The Best of Friends

“He’s like the brother I never had!”  “I love her like a sister!”  Have you ever heard someone say something like this?  Perhaps you have said the same kind of thing yourself, about someone to whom you are really close.  This is the expression of “phileo” (a Greek word) love, an emotional connection that goes beyond acquaintance or casual friendship.  This is the kind of love we can have with our brothers and sisters in Christ and with others whom God places in our lives.