I realize that it is extremely cliche to write a blog about love on Valentine's Day, but now that I am an official blogger, it is bound to happen sometime - might as well be on the designated day of love.
First off, let me state that the world we live in has a completely skewed view of what love is. Love is not the butterflies in our stomach we feel when we get around the person we "love." Love is not the tingly feeling we get when that special someone reaches for our hand. Love is not the gratitude we feel when we receive a bouquet of roses from our valentine. Although it may seem like it, I am not trying to belittle these wonderful things, because God placed a desire in our hearts to feel something when we are around someone we care for, and to act on those feelings. However, these feelings and acts of kindness cannot stand alone and be called love. They are fleeting, which fortunately, leaves room for the love of God to fill us up.
The only way to understand what true love is, is to understand the unconditional love that God pours into our lives every single day. As I am sure many of you are aware, 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the "chapter of love." God uses the writings of Paul to explain to the world what true love really is. God flat out tells us what true love should look like, yet we somehow drift away from this idea.
In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul explains that if we possessed all knowledge, if we had the ultimate faith, if we gave everything to the poor, but lacked to love others, we would have nothing. This gives us a clear understanding of how important love is to God. In verses 4-7, Paul gives a clear description of what true love is:
"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
As this is a famous passage of Scripture, we tend to list these few verses off without really processing the words and more importantly, applying it to our own lives. Many of us would like to believe that we do a pretty decent job at loving people. But if we are being completely honest with ourselves, we are not even close to portraying the love that Paul describes to the church in Corinth. This may be discouraging news, however, by the grace of God, He has given us the choice to become closer to achieving this kind of love. He gives us this hope in 1 John 4:16-18:
"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid of the day of judgement, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear."
The beginning of verse 16 reminds us of the knowledge we have of God's love for us - the ultimate act of love, which is seen in the famous John 3:16:
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."
The second part of verse 16 states that "God is love." This means that all of the characteristics of love that Paul gives us in 1 Corinthians 13 are seen through and in God. We are so far from portraying this love, therefore so unworthy of having this love poured into our lives, yet God chooses to do so. Wow. He even goes as far to "live in us."
The beginning of verse 17 states that:
"As we live in God, our love grows more perfect."
Even the secular world would agree that no one is perfect. As a believer, it is known that God is perfect. Although we can never achieve perfection, God gives us the choice to allow our love to be more like the love described in I Corinthians 13 - only achievable through Him.
So really, who needs a Valentine when you have Jesus?
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