Be my Valentine! Aaahhhh! Stirs up dreamy imaginations of affections lavished upon us as we relish in the indulgences of the one who adores us so! Oh, to be the center of someone’s world! To focus on the one who cannot live without me, this person who sacrifices all their desires in order to satisfy and care for me! What can I do for this person to please them because they have been so good to me? Ah, yes! This is Love! Or is it?
To the majority of the Western world, this is the mindset behind the day we enjoy called Valentine’s Day. What did I receive from my Valentine? What did I give to my Valentine? It would seem that this mindset generally prevails all throughout the year. How does my Valentine treat me? Reminds me of the words of a song popularized by Janet Jackson back in the 1980’s, “What have you done for me lately?”
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
I Corinthians 13:4-5
The Biblical meaning of LOVE proves something quite different.
LOVE does not focus on self but on others only
LOVE never brings attention to itself
LOVE sacrifices its own needs for the needs of others
LOVE treats others based on itself, not conditionally based upon how it is treated
LOVE always responds in kindness and never fights for its right to be “right” or to set others straight
The scriptures shed a whole new light on the true meaning of “love.”
This is a tremendous challenge for the disciple of Christ because in Christ the attention is on what I can do for you, and never the reciprocal. An even greater challenge is presented when we are admonished to treat with kindness those who have handled us grievously and do not deserve to be treated with any respect at all, and to truly find joy in this response toward them This is not only unnatural but completely achievable in the nature of a human being. Perhaps we can manage to outwardly exhibit some measure of self-control enabling us to act kind, but for our hearts to be pure and truly caring towards the wrong-doer is beyond human ability.
But I say to you, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
Luke 6:27-28
These are the words of Jesus, the One whom we claim is our Master. Did he give us (and expect us to carry out) instructions that are impossible to obey?
With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Matthew 19:26
The new creation is not merely a suggestion, but an absolute requirement in order to be able to walk out being a disciple of Jesus. Playing church is not enough. Enjoying our gatherings as nothing more than a wonderful time of social fellowship will never bring the maturity that unites the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:13) and transforms us into a beautiful creation formed in the image of love.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Romans 8:9a
If we truly have the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9b), we are a new creation. The old has passed away and the new has come (II Corinthians 5:17). Now we find that to respond to mistreatment with love is not only possible, but the initial “new natural” response, because it is rooted in true love – the image of perfect love – Jesus Christ Himself.
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