“All We Need is Love!”
When people think of February, one day usually sticks out - Valentine’s Day. Now I know many people like to disparage this day saying it is just a Hallmark holiday. It’s a day created by the greeting card, chocolate and florist industry to sell their merchandise to those who have a romantic love in their lives. They guilt people into thinking if we don’t lavish these sort of gifts on our Loved Ones on Valentine’s Day, then we are somehow lacking in romance.
This got me reflecting a bit more deeply on the topic of love. In the Book of First Corinthians is perhaps the most beautiful chapter in the entire Bible. Chapter thirteen is often referred to as the “love chapter.” It’s familiar to many of us because we hear it frequently recited at weddings. Paul says, “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. There are three things that will endure - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love.” (vs. 4-7, 13 NLT).
In these words of Paul is a beautiful description of what true godly love is all about. “Agape” is the Greek word for love that is used in this chapter. It is the same type of love God has for us. It is unconditional, unfaltering, and unselfish - always putting the other person first. It is also the type of love we are to display to others as Christians.
What type of love do we see portrayed in our culture and media? In movies, TV, music, magazines, etc., we see a romantic love (“Eros” in Greek) that is based on instant gratification, selfishness, eroticism and infatuation (“Love does not demand its own way”?). 50% of marriages end in divorce today (“Love never gives up”?). Families and friendships are often splintered because of long held grudges and unforgiveness (“it keeps no record of when it has been wronged”?). And our culture has largely turned away from God (“love...never loses faith”?). This is the opposite of the agape-type love that is to characterize us Christians.
Paul’s words in First Corinthians 13 speak loudly to us this Valentine’s Day. It’s not the love of warm fuzzies with hearts and Cupid and his arrows. It is a love that deeply challenges us as Christians to live our lives loving others in the same manner the God loves us. God the Father sent his only Son Jesus to earth to die a death He did not deserve. We deserve death because of our sin but He died in our place, as our substitute, so that we might have the gift of eternal life. This is the ultimate example of agape love. Take some time to really read First Corinthians 13 and ask God to show you some practical steps you can take today to love the people in your life sacrificially with true agape love. Whether it be your spouse, family member, a F.R.A.N. (Friend, Relative, Associate at work, Neighbor), or someone you just met, this Valentine’s Day and every other day for that matter, love them as God loves us (Matthew 22:39).