Love is a word that conjures up many thoughts and feelings. It’s an emotion whose layers run deep. It’s a word so powerful that a vacation has been built around it.
While the origins of Valentine’s Day are unclear, most trace it to the canonization of the martyr named Valentine. One of the martyrs is alleged to have been executed for continuing to perform marriages despite a ban by Emperor Claudius II. That legend is probably going how Valentine’s Day became related to love. In our modern culture, the day has come to be crammed with cards, candies, flowers, and gifts. These items are exchanged between individuals as an expression of affection and affection.
But does Valentine’s Day genuinely represent real love?
For so long as the world has existed, there have been conversations and stories about love and its power to affect lives. Webster defines love as “strong affection for one more arising out of kinship or to carry dear.” Pop culture makes love seem like an fast attraction that may just as quickly fade away. Psychology tells us there are a minimum of seven various kinds of love. And history conveys that love can change the world.
So, what makes love so impactful?
The answer is straightforward: its Creator.
The Bible says many things about love. The word is mentioned 310 times within the King James translation alone. The most prominently known definition of affection from the Bible comes from the primary book of Corinthians—
Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, it shouldn’t be proud. It doesn’t dishonor others, it shouldn’t be self-seeking, it shouldn’t be easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love doesn’t enjoyment of evil but rejoices with the reality. It all the time protects, all the time trusts, all the time hopes, all the time perseveres. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)
Those are strong attributes and ones that should not all the time on display. But it isn’t the one lofty attribute of affection the Bible espouses. Here are two more—
Greater love has nobody than this than to put down one’s life for his friends. John 15:13
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shouldn’t perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Love is powerful because its Creator is love.
There are many facets to God’s love, but His love will all the time be probably the most excellent and most perfect. The love that saves us from death fills the empty spot in our human hearts, provides hope and joy even in desperate times, and eventually makes us perfect sooner or later too.
The trappings of Valentine’s Day have their place, they usually hold special meaning for a lot of. But it isn’t the gestures that make love meaningful, it’s the muse. When you construct love from the muse of the Creator, real, lasting love grows. Valentine’s Day should remind Christians to not lose sight of the love of the One who first loved us.
For His is the Greatest Love of All.
May our hearts hunger for a word from the Lord this Valentine’s Day, because the psalmist writes, “I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure” (Psalm 119:162). Today, spend time reading a love letter from the Lord and consider writing one to Him.
Photo Credit: Photo provided by Dr. David Jeremiah
