LOVE
LOVE! What is love and why do we devote a whole day to celebrating it? Has love conquered a major battle? Has it paved the way for us to be able to live a better life? Has love marked a time in history in which it turned the tide of life for generations to come? The answer to all of these questions is “YES!”
The deepest love known is called “agape” love. It is the Greek word used in the Bible that describes a pure, willful, sacrificial love that intentionally puts the needs and lives of others first.
This agape love embodies sacrifice, selflessness, and unconditional care for others. This love is a choice, not born out of obligation or attraction. It has nothing to do with emotions or feelings, but it does require commitment and faithfulness. The best example of this love comes from God. For God, love isn’t some sentimental thing that drives Him to act in our best interest, no, it is His full character – God is love! History is marked by this agape love in that God chose to create us in the first place, but then, to send His Son, Jesus to earth so he could then die and pay our penalty for all the wrongs we do in our lifetime. This act of love has conquered the biggest battle of all – death. It paved the way for all generations to have life and have it to the fullest for eternity (John 10:10). First Corinthians 13:4-8a lays out what this agape love looks like. Who, but God, has modeled it completely? “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” (NIV).
One man, a Roman Christian clergyman, named Valentinus, whose acts of love gave us our day to celebrate love today, was martyred in Rome on February 14, 269 AD. He was later given the name Saint Valentine, and the Feast of Valentine’s Day was established in AD 496 to honor him. It is said that on the day Valentine was killed, he had “audaciously preached the gospel to the Emporer Claudius.”* Valentine was secretly marrying Christians and accounts of him healing people from various ailments have been documented. Legend contends that “Valentine cut hearts from parchment to remind those he married of God’s love.”* God’s love ran through Saint Valentine and like Valentine, God sends reminders of His love to us all throughout His creation – “cut” hearts that grow and fall with the seasons. Do you look for them?
By all means, celebrate the love that is in your life today, but take time to remember the truest and deepest love that is waiting for each of us – the agape love that is available through God alone! Happy Valentine’s Day!
*Lectio 365 – Morning Devotional, Friday 14 February, Valentine’s Day, Anchored in Hope.