Biblical Love

As I write, it is Valentine’s Day. A day that has come to represent a celebration of our love for one another. Specifically, Valentine’s Day has become a celebration of romantic love. Romantic love is a beautiful thing and I think a gift from God. However, romantic love can be rather shallow and for some, rather fleeting. Romantic love in and of itself will never be enough to sustain a meaningful relationship. Love must go deeper. Love must be based on something more emotion or feelings. Scripture often speaks of love as more of a commitment than it is a feeling. In fact, consider this rather popular passage of scripture related to love:

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; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, ESV).

Clearly two things are apparent when reading this passage. One, there is nothing selfish about love. Two, love puts a very high value on its object. We see these truths in the playing up of positive characteristics; love is patient and kind, rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all thins, and endures all things. We also see it in the playing down of the negative characteristics; love does not envy or boast, is not arrogant or rude, does not insist on its own way, is not irritable or resentful, does not rejoice at wrongdoing, love never ends. Clearly, love is more than a feeling.

Take a quick look at those lists of characteristics, both positive and negative. Now think of someone you know who is in a broken relationship and tell me if the problem is not readily identifiable. When we allow selfishness and jealousy to enter in, the very foundation that love is built upon crumbles. Let us strive to reflect a biblical love and not some artificial product that popular society has tried to sell us. Biblical love is about others, not ourselves.

Honored to be your pastor,

Darrell