I am writing this blog post a couple of days before Valentine’s Day. I just ordered my wife some flowers on yesterday. I always wrestle with doing that because she thinks they are a waste of money. But I guess I buy them because that’s the Valentine’s Day thing to do. I am sure we will go out to dinner somewhere on Valentine’s Day as well. Isn’t that what all couples do on that day? Well maybe not, but it sure does seem that way based on the crowds and the waiting time that exist at every restaurant. I guess my take from this yearly display of romance should be that love is very much in vogue.
Well, I am not quite ready to do that. First of all, what is love? To be sure, it can’t be occasioned by a holiday. It’s much deeper than superficial expressions, however impressed the mate may be thereby. Love is more than sex.
The fact is that true love is rather complicated to define. The Bible says “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Okay, you got it? I certainly didn’t. To me, that verse affirms my assertion that true love is hard to define, when you consider that God’s ways are past finding out (Romans 11:33). When we talk about true love, as intended by God, we have to refer to 1 Corinthians 13. This chapter describes many of the qualities of love more than it defines what it is. So allow me to take an excerpt from this great chapter to make my point about true love: “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:7, NIV). Note the resounding word “always.” I submit to you that when you see this verse modeled in a couple, you are looking at true love.
This kind of love cannot be bought by any amount of money. It is not commanded by physical beauty. Rather, it comes from God. Because He is love, when we become born of His Spirit, we take on His character. A person may not be able to put into words this true love that fills his soul when he comes to Christ, but those who know him will see that love in action. They will know a miraculous change has happened.
So what’s my point here, regarding Valentine’s Day? Well, because I am a Christian, when I ask the question what’s love got to do with it, I am thinking in terms of true love, as distinguished from the world’s concept of love. And to answer that question, I would have to follow couples home, and see if the love they show in public is one that “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Only God can give us the capacity to love like that, and based on our current divorce rate and the “crimes of passion” making the news, this world needs a whole lot more of that true love.
Well, I am not quite ready to do that. First of all, what is love? To be sure, it can’t be occasioned by a holiday. It’s much deeper than superficial expressions, however impressed the mate may be thereby. Love is more than sex.
The fact is that true love is rather complicated to define. The Bible says “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Okay, you got it? I certainly didn’t. To me, that verse affirms my assertion that true love is hard to define, when you consider that God’s ways are past finding out (Romans 11:33). When we talk about true love, as intended by God, we have to refer to 1 Corinthians 13. This chapter describes many of the qualities of love more than it defines what it is. So allow me to take an excerpt from this great chapter to make my point about true love: “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:7, NIV). Note the resounding word “always.” I submit to you that when you see this verse modeled in a couple, you are looking at true love.
This kind of love cannot be bought by any amount of money. It is not commanded by physical beauty. Rather, it comes from God. Because He is love, when we become born of His Spirit, we take on His character. A person may not be able to put into words this true love that fills his soul when he comes to Christ, but those who know him will see that love in action. They will know a miraculous change has happened.
So what’s my point here, regarding Valentine’s Day? Well, because I am a Christian, when I ask the question what’s love got to do with it, I am thinking in terms of true love, as distinguished from the world’s concept of love. And to answer that question, I would have to follow couples home, and see if the love they show in public is one that “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Only God can give us the capacity to love like that, and based on our current divorce rate and the “crimes of passion” making the news, this world needs a whole lot more of that true love.
Copyright ©2010 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
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