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By Ava Pennington—
We want love. We need love. More than one thousand song titles contain the word love. Books have been written about it. Poems recited. We chase it and sing about it and fall for imitations. And no matter what we do, we can’t get enough.
Maybe that’s because we don’t understand what love really is. And there’s no time when love is more misunderstood than Valentine’s Day.
We think of love as something that happens to us, but love is an intentional decision. “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” (John 13:34 ESV).
We think romantic love must be young and sexy, but faithful love lingers long after our bodies begin to fail. “So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth” (Malachi 2:15 ESV).
We think a loving marriage is all about our happiness, but the Bible tells us it’s a picture of the relationship between Christ and His Church. “‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:31-32 ESV).
We think love is about saying nice things, but true love is seen as well as heard. “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (I John 3:18 ESV).
We think “love means never having to say you’re sorry,” when true love means we’re the first to apologize. “With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2 ESV).
We think the goal of love is to make us feel special, when the goal of love is to put the other person’s needs before ours. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (I John 3:16 ESV).
We think love is our idea, but the Bible tells us God loved us first. “We love because he first loved us” (I John 4:19 ESV).
We think we should only love those who love us, but we are to love even our enemies. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44 ESV).
And the biggest misconception about love?
We think love is just an emotion, but the Bible tells us it is a Person. “God is love” (I John 4:8 ESV).
The greatest expression of love occurred when God gave the life of His Son so we could be restored to Him through the sacrifice of Christ. Receiving His love enables us to give it to others.
Love is to be treasured, whether we’re celebrating the love of family, a spouse, or a good friend. And the most costly manifestation of love was first extended by God to us. Let’s treat it as the precious gift it truly is.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…” (I Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV).
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Ava Pennington is thoroughly enjoying her second career as an author, teacher, and speaker. Originally from New York City, she relocated after a 20-year corporate career as a Human Resources executive. But don’t call her retired. In addition to writing and speaking, she teaches a Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) class of 150+ women from September through May each year.
Her newest book, Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional, is published by Revell and endorsed by Kay Arthur, founder of Precepts Ministries International. Ava has also written articles for magazines such as Power for Living, Called, and Christianity Today’s Today’s Christian Woman. She has been published in 25 anthologies, including 18 Chicken Soup for the Soul books.
Ava is grateful for her husband, Russ, their marriage of 35+ years, and their home in south Florida. She is a passionate speaker and teacher, and delights in challenging audiences with relevant, enjoyable presentations. For more information, visit www.AvaWrites.com or contact her at Ava@AvaWrites.com.
This hits the mark Ava. Love is always a deliberate choice. Just as God chose to send His love in the form of His sweet son, we choose to love. Sometimes it comes easily and at other times is a deliberate act of our will. That choice is powered by the grace of our great God.
So true…and so appropriate to be talking about it this weekend, between the emotional sentimentalism of Valentine’s Day and the release of a movie that corrupts the true nature of love.