The TRUEST DEFINITION of LOVE!
It was a quick stop at the grocery, just a few items on my list. In fact, I wrestled with the possibility that I did not even need a cart, but then my back surgeon’s words spoke loudly inside my mind, reminding me: twenty pounds is twenty pounds, so I walked to retrieve a grocery cart for the “few items on my list.”
Pushing my cart, I rounded the corner, and there before me, the grandest display of flower bouquets—
- Small balloons affixed to bouquets &
- Teddy bears wrapped around bouquets & even
- Overly large bouquets standing taller than all the rest.
VALENTINE’S DAY WAS UPON US!
The display of flower bouquets had exploded, leaving the confines of the “flower department,” bleeding into the “fruit and vegetable departments.”
- How could I reach the corn on the cob?
- I could not, without first maneuvering around the flowers.
- How could I select the sweet, ripe berries?
- I could not, without first facing the overabundance of flowers.
- How could I find the ripe bananas for my breakfast?
- How could I use my treasured coupon for the grape tomatoes?
Surely, these flowers will be gone from the grocery store by Saturday, the fifteenth of February, and the DAY AFTER VALENTINE’S DAY!
We live in a world where “LOVE” descends upon us, utterly apparent from the display of flowers, candies, cards, teddy bears, balloons, and EVERYTHING RED! While this Valentine Day holiday can be a fun day to enjoy, a man-made holiday can never define the fullness of “LOVE.” In reaching instead for our copy of God’s Word, for our Bible, we find the TRUEST DEFINITION of LOVE!
“The one who does not love does not know God,
(The 1st Letter of John 4: 8-10 NASB)
for God is love.
By this the love of God was manifested in us,
that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world
so that we might live through Him.
In this is love,
not that we loved God,
but that He loved us
and
sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
“Propitiation” is a large church word. Many who do not attend church, who do not study the Bible, may ask: What is propitiation?
LOVE—IMMEASURABLE LOVE!
LOVE—GIVING OF ONE LIFE FOR ALL!
LOVE—SACRIFICIAL LOVE!
LOVE—HE LOVED US FIRST!
LOVE—LAID DOWN HIS LIFE SO THAT ALL WHO BELIEVE IN HIM—MIGHT LIVE THROUGH HIM!
LOVE—JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD!
Valentine’s Day 2025 is coming this Friday. If you have doubts, just stop by the grocery stores and florist shoppes. We find a world filled with thoughts of love, and while it may be a fun day to enjoy, this is NOT the TRUEST DEFINITION of LOVE!
That is 100% correct, for the TRUEST DEFINITION of LOVE can only be found in placing our faith in Jesus and what He did for us on Calvary’s cross.
“We love,
(The 1st Letter of John 4: 19 NASB)
because He first loved us.”