Not the love of liking someone. Not the love of agreeing with someone.
Agape is love that becomes action: showing up, sharing, protecting, and tending.
Aphrodite's Agape numbered series was inspired by a medical crisis she faced in 2010. During her times of need through those years, she received much love and support from friends, family, and strangers. Compared to the artist's earlier work, this series is more abstract.
Agape #27 Teal Water
Acrylic on canvas, 40 in x 30 in
See
Look at the images of agape below. Most are abstract. Artists seem to be trying to capture the feeling they get when experiencing agape love.
Lovingkindness Overflowing—photograph by Ruth Hage
Mineral Pigments and Gold on Kumohada Paper, 36 1/5 × 72 in
Anti ICE Protest in Minneapolis January 23, 2026, -35 degrees F
And in times of unrest—when a city feels stretched and tender—agape frequently looks ordinary and brave at the same time. Here in Minneapolis, we’re seeing people step up: marching, offering rides, handing out coats, making food, and checking on neighbors. Love turns into logistics. Love turns into warmth.
Last night I went by the memorial for Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Beautiful messages of support, candles, flowers, and sorrowful people paying their respects. We were offered warm food and kind words. Looking around at the variety of faces, all unknown to me, yet friends somehow, I was held. That's Agape.
Agape shows up as:
Food offered without conditions
Coats shared without judgment
Transportation given so someone can get home safely
Marching that says, “Your life matters enough for me to show up with my body”
Checking in that says, “I’m here. I’m not leaving you alone.”
Agape is love that moves outward. It’s the decision to treat a stranger’s safety as your concern.
Flower Thrower, 2005, Banksy
Banksy’s Flower Thrower shows agape as a brave, public choice: in a moment designed for harm, the hand releases an offering instead—love as resistance, love as action, love that refuses to dehumanize.
SAY
Use these questions for reflection, conversation, or journaling:
Where do you see love expressed as action, not decoration?
What does care “cost”: time, comfort, attention, or emotional steadiness?
In your life, what are the small ways you’ve seen people practice agape lately?
What does agape look like in a community under pressure?
How can you say thank you for agape given anonymously?
DO
Love as a Verb—Practice agape: provide food, care, or presence for someone in your life or community.Keep it ordinary. Make it sacred.
Abstract artwork—Create an artwork that represents agape. What kinds of colors, shapes, or textures might you include? Why?
The Quiet Halo
Draw or paint a portrait of a “helper” (real or imagined).
Instead of a halo above the head, place the glow around the hands—around what they’re offering.
If you make something this week, I’d love to see it. Reply and tell me: Where did you notice agape—in art, in Minneapolis, or in yourself?
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Yours in wonder,
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