Happy Valentines Day! This is a beautiful day to celebrate love.Actually, we ought to celebrate love every day. As children of God, we demonstrate our relationship to Christ by loving each other. Jesus said “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35)
The love Jesus is commanding is not just a nice, fuzzy feeling. This love, agape love, is demonstrated by laying down our lives for each other. Now, we probably will not be called on to actually die for each other. But we can, we must, daily set aside our own interests to meet the needs of others.
Jesus demonstrated that kind of love for us, as He literally died so that we might live. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) And that is the example we are to follow.
So this Valentines Day, rather than just celebrating the emotional “I like you” love, let us intentionally serve others, putting their needs ahead of our own.
Pastor John