Happy Valentine’s Day!
On this special day that celebrates all things loved and loving, I would like to talk about the greatest love of all. How wonderful it is to fall in love, whether it is that first love of our life, a second, third, or even fourth love, or finding that certain somebody during the last chapter of our lives. It seems that the heart’s desire for physical, emotional and spiritual love never fails, no matter how old we become, or how much we have previously suffered in the name of love. In the end, the heart wants what it wants!
There are many other types of love as well as romantic love, such as the love of family and friends, the deep, deep love and connection we feel towards our newborn baby, our children and grandchildren, and our most cherished pets. When God created man and woman, He put a special hole in our hearts, that only love can fill. In fact, if we believe in and personally know God, He should take first place in our heart. Our capacity for love is endless.
In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus answered one of the Pharisees’ questions regarding which commandment was the greatest in the Law: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.” Given the fickle nature of mankind, this can be a very hard lesson to learn, and we often get it wrong. We tend to put God on the back burner of our lives, until a crisis suddenly erupts, and we find that no one can help us, except our heavenly Father, creator and saviour. Sometimes, we put everyone and everything before God, including ourselves…we are only human, after all! The second verse is equally difficult to achieve…some people are just not all that loveable!
All we can do, is to keep trying to do our best, and to ask for forgiveness, when we don’t. Thankfully, God’s capacity for love is vast and endless, and if we are sincere, He will forgive us our shortfallings and continue to love us, no matter what. In fact, there is no shortage of new chances with God! How wonderful, loving and forgiving He is.
Jesus’ suffering, death on the cross and eternal love for us is sacrificial in nature. He gave up His life, so that we can live for eternity with Him. Often, we are also asked to love sacrificially…when we say our marriage vows, we pledge “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until parted by death.” Promises like these should never be taken lightly…a friend once shared with me that her daughter-in-law was struggling within her marriage to her son. He had recently suffered a health crisis, with permanent ramifications upon their lives, and she was very unhappy. This outcome was “not what she signed up for,” but it is actually what most of us vow when we decide to tie the knot. If we are honest and sincere on our wedding day, it is exactly what we signed up for!
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule, such as living in a physically unsafe and/or emotionally unhealthy relationship. (Jesus stated that sexual immorality is a reason for divorce in the Bible.) Over the years, I have learned to take life one day at a time. When life appears bleak, and the future is uncertain, we can turn to our faith with the hope that things will get better. In 1 Corinthians 13:13, the apostle Paul writes, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
