What about LOVE?!

This is a picture of me and my Valentine on our Wedding Day 9-24-1994

1 Corinthians 13:3-5

New International Version (NIV)

³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[a] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

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.

I thought it only fitting our subject be about love since Valentine's Day is Thursday.  And although I think Valentine's Day is probably either the best day for some, and the worst day for others...It is a day we all know as Feburary 14th each and every year.  This is a wonderful day for all florist, card companies, candy makers, and restaurants.  They rack up the profits, as it's their big day! But what about the rest of us?  What does it mean?  Will it look like a card, a flower arrangement delivered, a box of chocolates shaped like a heart, or a nice dinner?  I suppose if you are really lucky, it might even compose all of the above...but is that what love really looks like? I won't say that I don't enjoy flowers, cards, candy, or a nice dinner...but love is so not all of this "stuff," but rather a whole ton more, and mostly things we can't see, touch, smell, or eat for that matter.

The Message puts it this way... 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

So, let's be honest, that is a tall order, yes, that list above is what I'm talking about.  There are a few hard ones in there, this is for sure.  For instance, the ones about not keeping score, never giving up, putting up with anything, and to keep going to the end. Keeping these are WAY harder than sending flowers, or buying a box of chocolates, wouldn't you agree?  Buying stuff is well, to be honest, the easy part.  It's the day in, day out, going through life especially when hardship comes a knocking at the door; this is when we really see what our loved ones are made of, how much they truly love us.  But, lets be honest, we are all going to fall short, no matter how hard we try to uphold all of these important aspects of love.  After all, we are human, imperfect, and often can't help but think what is in it for "us"?  Even the best of the best are going to fail sometimes...but the most important thing is to try, I mean really try.  

We can look to Jesus as our role model on this.  He was here, He was perfect in every way, and He died for not His sin, but ours.  Now, that is love!  He didn't give up on us, He didn't keep score and decide we weren't worth it.  He literally puts up with everything, as all sin is forgivable.  It is pretty amazing when you stop and think about it.  And to tell you the truth, it is very humbling to realize how short we fall in comparison.  If we could all just love a little more like Jesus did, our problems we face in society would slowly fade.  Life is short, love as if it was your last day, tell people you love them often.  Show people you love them not in ways they expect, but surprise them with something they can truly appreciate.  Cards, chocolate, flowers, and dinner are all okay, but look for something a bit more curtailed toward them as a person.  It doesn't need to be on Valentine's day, but randomly spread out all year long.  After all, if you love them, aren't they worth knowing how special they are to you?  

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.   1 Corinthians 13:13