Valentine’s Day is upon us. A “holiday” to celebrate love. But what is love, really?
The world’s definition of love is very different than what God says about love.
The World says:
Love is a Feeling
Feelings: an emotional response felt in the body.
They come and go, change quickly, arise without thought, and depend on our circumstances.
Feelings are part of being human, but love is not a feeling; it’s a choice, an action.
Colossians 3:12-14 says: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Love is an action that we consciously choose.
Love=Happiness
Happiness: a good, positive feeling
We feel happy when good things happen, when things go our way.
The world tells us: “You deserve to be happy. If it’s hard and you’re unhappy, it’s not meant to be. Follow your heart.” It’s self-focused and ultimately comes from a “what am I getting out of it” perspective.
John 15:13 says: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Love is Being Affirmed
Affirmation: putting a stamp of approval on everything a person does.
The world says: “You do you, do what makes you happy, live your truth.”
Encouraging others is great, but when we affirm them in all that they do, we are not truly loving them.
This can lead to thinking you’re unloved when someone disagrees with you or corrects you.
Affirmation says: “You’re all good all the time.” Biblical love says: “I care enough about you to tell you the truth (in love) even when you’re making choices I don’t agree with.”
Ephesians 4:15 says, “Speak the truth in love” to mature spiritually and grow to become in every respect like Christ, who is the head of the church.”
As believers, our goal is to continue growing in the likeness of Christ, which means ongoing growth and transformation.
As I think about what true love means, I can’t help but focus on Jesus’ death. Did he feel like being brutally beaten and nailed to a cross? Was he experiencing happiness while sacrificing himself? Did he affirm what others said about him to change his circumstances? Nope
John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Love is costly, sacrificial, and other-centered.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
