With this coming Sunday being Valentine's Day, love is a topic on everyone's mind. And even when Valentine's Day is nowhere close to soon, love is still a topic on everyone's mind. We all think we know what love means. It's when we really, really like something, right? Well kind of. But there's more.
Sure, you can say "I love pizza!" or "I love taking naps." or "I love watching Netflix!" but is that type of love the same love that you mean when you tell someone that you love them?
The dictionary will tell you that the definition of love is "an intense feeling of deep affection". And while that may be part of it, I think this definition is missing a key part. You may feel an intense feeling of deep affection for pizza, or taking naps, or watching Netflix...I'm not trying to say that those things aren't true. But the other part of love is probably not something that you would feel about pizza or naps or Netflix or any of those things.
Another definition of love could be this: "putting someone else's needs above your own" or "making a sacrifice in order to better the life of someone else".
I don't think you'd put pizza's needs above your own, or sacrifice yourself for pizza. But think about someone who you love a lot. It could be your best friend, your mom, your dad, your significant other, your sibling...really anyone. You may have a feeling of deep affection for them, and you may throw out the words "I love you!" all the time, but do you truly love them well by putting their needs above your own or sacrificing something for them? Realize that love isn't just a feeling, it is an action as well.
The Bible is where we get this new definition of love. Throughout God's Word, we see who much we are loved. We see that we are so loved that God made the ultimate sacrifice for us by giving up His only son so that we could have eternal life (John 3:16). The Bible tells us that God himself is love (1 John 4:8), and that we know what love is because God gave us Jesus (1 John 3:16).
When we look to the Bible for what love is, we can see the way that we should truly love others. We can see what love is and what love isn't. Let's take a look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, a passage that goes into detail about what love is.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It does not dishonor others, 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.
8 Love never fails.
God gives us a clear picture of how we should love others in passage. Sure, this passage is read all the time at weddings, but this passage isn't just for weddings. I think God intends this kind of love for all relationships.
Love means being patient and kind. It means celebrating each other's accomplishments. It means being humble. It means bringing honor to others and not putting your own needs or happiness above someone else's. It is staying calm in times of conflict, it doesn't keep score. It seeks honesty. It stays strong no matter what life throws in the way. And it endures forever, the way that God's love endures forever.
Sometimes people can be hard to love. They can be annoying or mean or just flat out hard to deal with. But think about this. God loved us...and still loves us...when we are hard to love too. We are broken, sinful people, but God loves us regardless. The people around us are broken, sinful people, too. Let's love them regardless as well.
So this Valentine's Day, instead of getting caught up in buying chocolate and flowers and all of that, let's get caught up in truly loving others the way that God loves us.
