Love...when you think of love, what comes to mind? The dictionary's definition is as follows:
love
1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
2. a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection,
as for a parent, child, or friend
The primary meaning of the word "love" in Scripture is a "purposeful commitment to sacrificial action for another." In the Bible it is a fact that loving God is equated with obeying His Word. The two are inseparable.
Thinking of Valentine's Day and how much the focus is on love, I had to wonder which love is Valentine's Day promoting and I am leaning toward the dictionary's definition of love. The love that the dictionary describes is the love of the world and it is based on how I feel and it is a selfish type of love. The world's love is one based on getting something from someone else and thus for the world, love must be earned by making someone else feel good. Powerful emotions may come with love but it is the commitment of the will that makes true biblical love steadfast and unchanging even in the midst of troubles and trials.
We have a wonderful example of true love through Christ. He died while we were yet sinners.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8). God loves the lost sinner, the one who is living in sin and rebellion toward Him. He loved us enough to send His only Son to die for us to pay our debt while we were yet sinning! It makes me so thankful that God loved me enough to send His only Son to die for me while I was yet a sinner, that if I believe on Him, I may be saved and have eternal life through Him!!
I love the way 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 illustrates love.
Thinking of Valentine's Day and how much the focus is on love, I had to wonder which love is Valentine's Day promoting and I am leaning toward the dictionary's definition of love. The love that the dictionary describes is the love of the world and it is based on how I feel and it is a selfish type of love. The world's love is one based on getting something from someone else and thus for the world, love must be earned by making someone else feel good. Powerful emotions may come with love but it is the commitment of the will that makes true biblical love steadfast and unchanging even in the midst of troubles and trials.
We have a wonderful example of true love through Christ. He died while we were yet sinners.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8). God loves the lost sinner, the one who is living in sin and rebellion toward Him. He loved us enough to send His only Son to die for us to pay our debt while we were yet sinning! It makes me so thankful that God loved me enough to send His only Son to die for me while I was yet a sinner, that if I believe on Him, I may be saved and have eternal life through Him!!
I love the way 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 illustrates love.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Remember that love is of God and in order for us to have true love, we need to look to Him, the source of true love! So may we love those around us with a sacrificial love and not a selfish love!! Happy Valentine's Day!
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