I love Valentine’s Day. The whole family gets into it – each of us has a little tin mailbox & we write love notes to each other all week, we make lots of cards to give out, red & pink treats abound, and then there’s the chocolate.
Love is on everyone’s mind. But there are so many notions of what love is. Men & women see it pretty differently. And how many love languages are there again? Do you know what yours is? Does your spouse (if you have one) know what it is? Do you know the love language of each one living in your house with you? Have you told them you love them in their language today?
I’ve some thoughts on love that I’ve meant to write out for awhile. Guess Valentine’s Day is as good a time as any. So many verses in the Bible talk of love, but my favorite is “God is love.” God IS love! Everything He does is loving. He can’t do anything else BUT. It is the essence of what He is. That’s how we know what love is. The problem is, so many see this verse & twist it around their warped views of what love is. They say, “God is love, so He wouldn’t send me to Hell.” or “He doesn’t condemn people for such & such a sin – He’s loving.” or “He wouldn’t confront this person – He would ‘love’ them.” Well, the problem comes with our view of what love is.
Is it loving to let your kids play in the street without warning them? No! A loving parent trains them to play in safe areas only and disciplines them when they disobey to keep them from doing it again. God is loving when He disciplines us (the Lord chastens whom He loves.). Is it loving to sit back & watch someone make a mess of their lives without letting them know about a better way – God’s way? Sometimes love is painful. Sometimes love is tough. Sometimes love says the hard things no one else will.
One thing I do know – real love is not shown on TV or movies. Usually, that “love” is self-absorbed, lustful, totally selfish. And it’s not the wimpy, “anything to make you happy” attitude that’s portrayed as love in parenthood and grandparenting today. Love is creative, jealous, powerful, eternal, just, good, wise, merciful, faithful, kind, patient, gracious, compassionate, forgiving, strong, providing, healing, disciplining, instructing… Because God is all that! And thus we know what love is.
“Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God and everyone that loves is born of God & knows God. He that loves not knows not God for God is love.” – 1 John 4:7,8
“There are three things that will endure – faith, hope & love – and the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13 (In Heaven, when this world is done, we won’t need faith. Our faith will be fulfilled. We won’t be hoping any more – we’ll have it. But love – God – will be there!!! It is forever.)
Liberty 92 