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.
1 Corinthians 4-5 NIV
Today is Valentine’s Day. The history behind this day is shrouded in mystery, but the legend is that in third century Rome, Emperor Claudius II banned marriages because he believed single men made better soldiers. A priest named Valentine defied this decree and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.
When his actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. While in prison, Valentine fell in love with the jailor's daughter, who visited him during his confinement. Before his execution, he is said to have written her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression still in use today on this special day.
Over time, the day became associated with romantic love, celebrated worldwide with the exchange of cards, flowers, and chocolates.
Love is an interesting word in the English language because it has a multitude of meanings in different contexts. For example, I would use the same word to describe my love of pizza as I would to describe my love for my wife.
The Greeks had four different words for love: philio, which is love for a friend; storge, which is love for your family; eros, which is romantic love; and finally, the highest form of love, agape. Interestingly, the word philio appears in the New Testament 32 times, storge, only 2 times, and eros, zero times.
Agape is seen 262 times in the New Testament. It is the kind of love that we should strive toward. Unconditional love. Sacrificial love. It is selfless care for others. It is the love that God has for us. When Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13 that love is patient and kind. It doesn’t boast, it isn’t proud. He is talking about agape. It is wanting the best for others. And many times, that is a decision. If we were truly honest about it, there are people in our lives that we don’t actually want what’s best for them. It makes no earthly sense to agape an enemy. We can certainly agape our family, a friend, a colleague. But an enemy?
This throws a whole new light on love. It is not just a warm, fuzzy feeling for another person. But it takes intentionality. It’s a decision to make, every day, all day. God’s love, agape, can be difficult for us to produce ourselves. However, it is not for us to create in us. We must be open to allow God to cultivate agape in us.
It’s no accident that love is the first one of the fruits of the spirit that we read in Galatians 5:22-23. For fruit is not something that we can create on our own. But must be planted and grown in us. God’s love within us so that we can share God’s love through us. Happy Valentine’s Day to all, with agape.
#agape #UnconditionalLove#GodisLove #Valentine'sDay