THE WAY OF LOVE

With Valentines Day quickly approaching (this Tuesday), some might say, “love is in the air.” Our boys have begun to prepare valentines to hand out at school, and AJ has prepared a box for kids to put valentines into for him. For a young child, it’s innocent fun. From there, Valentines Day may take on different meanings throughout your life. Maybe it is an occasion for a special date night—no matter how long you’ve been married. For those who have lost their spouse, it may be a hard day, missing that loved one. For the grandparent, maybe there’s a call to young grandchildren or great-grandchildren telling them that they are your special valentine. Or, maybe it’s just another day for you. Regardless, with all the decorations and hubbub, we tend to think about love a little more when February 14 approaches.

While romantic love is important, true love goes much deeper than that. And, what passage do you think I’m going to refer to … you guessed it … 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1Co 13:4-7 ESV)

Now, I’m not going to go into a discussion of the three Greek terms for love, but it is “agape” love in this passage. Instead, I’d like to rearrange this passage into lists of what love is, is not, does, and does not, and I hope it gives us a fresh perspective on this important passage.

Love is: patient, kind
Love is not: arrogant, rude, irritable, resentful
Love does: rejoice with the truth, bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things
Love does not: envy, boast, insist on its own way, rejoice at wrongdoing

It almost goes without saying, but true love is self-sacrificing. It is other-centered, not self-centered. It is seeking and believing the best of and in someone else. True love fights the saying, “familiarity breeds contempt,” with compassion and concern. I hope and pray that our lives are filled with true love for God and for each other!

In His grip,
Pastor Decker