This is “love” weekend better known as
“Valentine’s Day.” Everyone is talking
and thinking about love. “I’m in love.”
“I wish I was in love.” “Are
you still in love?”
Our concept of love among contemporary adults
seems to be kin more to seventh-grade-girls conversation than mature
adults. What is love? What does it look like?
One of my favorite authors is Paul Tripp. His defines love as “a willing self-sacrifice
for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person
being loved is deserving.”
You mean he didn’t use “butterflies in my
stomach” to define love? Or “falling-in-love?”
The Biblical concept of love is one that is
best not defined with words but an action.
Christ’s sacrifice of love is the ultimate definition of what love is
and what love does.
I John 4: 10-11 (NIV) “This is love: not that we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear
friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
Our
modern-day definition of love seems to center more of self than sacrifice. But there is no such thing as love without
sacrifice. Love will cost you…time,
pride, conveniences, happiness, and your good and it will cause you to give,
serve, wait, forgive, and suffer.
Love is not
generated outside of you, but deep within you.
If we follow the perfect example of Jesus’ love, then we don’t wait for
someone to love us to love them. And we
don’t require reciprocation. We love
even when we are not experiencing love in return.
Marriages,
families and relationships are being thrown to the garbage dump so quickly
because someone doesn’t “feel” loved.
ALERT: feelings have nothing to
do with it. Again, Jesus is our
example. Romans 5:10 “..while we were
God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.”
It is
interesting to note the Bible never commands a wife to love her husband. When one wife was trying to get out of a
marriage due to no Biblical command to love him, the pastor responded, “But
Jesus did say to love your enemies.” Ouch
On this Valentine
weekend, open your heart to the greatest love of all…Jesus. It will make an eternal difference.
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