WHAT IS LOVE?

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Cor 13:4-7. Whether you are a Christian or not, most of us know the above verses, but how many of us remember this verse, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

Romans 5:8 tells us “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Even as a long-time Christian it is hard for me to wrap my mind around this. Why would God love sinners enough to step down from His throne in Heaven and die for us? What makes us so special? The answer to that question is nothing! We are not special and we certainly are not worth Jesus, the Prince of Heaven, becoming mortal and dying a cruel death on the cross for 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. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” John 3:16-18.

I know you are getting ready to celebrate Valentine’s Day. You’ve already got your flowers ordered, the card and gift bought and you’ve made reservations to that hard to get into restaurant. But as you think about this day of love, don’t think about it the way the world thinks about it. I know you love your spouse, your boyfriend or your girlfriend, but as you take time to think about love today....think about the sacrificial love that was made on your behalf over 2000 years ago. Take this day and think about what Christ’s sacrifice means to you and you alone.

One of these days, there will come a day of reckoning, a day of accountability, a day when each one of us will stand before the judgment throne of God. When God asks you what your definition of love is, what are you going to say? As much as I love my husband, my heart breaks because I will never understand the magnitude of real love...God’s love for me. I can not fathom the love that it took to allow His Son to bear all of my sins. Because of what Jesus did for us, God has said “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Heb 8:12. When I stand before the judgment throne and God asks me what my definition of love is, all I will be able to do is point to Jesus Christ!

As you celebrate Valentine’s Day today think about the sacrifice that Christ made on your behalf all those years ago. Think about how much God loves you! No matter how hard we try, we will never fully understand the great depths of love that God has for us. Feebly, all we can do is point to Jesus and strive to let others see Christ’s love through us.

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.” Psalms 103:10-14 (NIV)

On behalf of Lisa, Vanessa and myself we wish you a very Happy Valentine’s Day.

Cindy

Bible Verse taken from the New International Version
@copyright 2011 LVC Ministries, Inc