Love is patient; love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
As you probably are already aware, the Bible speaks of three kinds of love: agape (Godly love), phileo (brotherly love) and eros (romantic love). For our upcoming holiday, what you see advertised tends toward the eros kind of love. Our pillow today speaks strictly of a Godly love. John Bisagno in LOVE IS SOMETHING YOU DO describes that kind of love as:
"...marked by total absence of any selfish motive.
It is love because God is love. It loves because the
object of love is there and that is enough...that is the kind
of love which He gives to us and which He desires that we
should give to others."
John 13:34 uses this same word for agape love:
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I
have loved you, so you must love one another."
He has loved us unselfishly and that's how he wants us to love others! A tall order, but by His indwelling Spirit we have His fruit: "The fruit of the spirit is LOVE...". Guess what kind of love? AGAPE! What an amazing gift! Anything else is not patient nor kind; it's jealous and boastful and proud. It dishonors others and is self-seeking. It is easily angered and keeps track of wrongs. It delights in wrong and does not rejoice in the truth. It does not protect nor trust.
Ann Voskamp tells a story about being in a pretty funky mood - easily angered, frustrated and stressed beyond belief. She was walking with a friend - someone who probably had a few needs of her own - when she stopped cold. There in the middle of the sidewalk was this graffiti:
HEY, BEAUTIFUL. YOU ARE LOVED!
She realized God had been shouting from the heavens to her about His love...but she was so frustrated with the things that weren't going well, she never even heard Him. His sweet and precious grace comes to us in every size and shape, but this day, it came in the form of graffiti! So they started shouting it to the wind and to each other: "Hey, Beautiful. You are Loved!!". And the mood passed. She was grateful and patient with those around her.
Jeremiah 31:3 says: "I have loved you with an everlasting love...". We can ask for no better kind of love than His kind of love. And we can give no better kind of love, than His kind of love. This Valentine's Day, think of shouting to someone in need: "Hey, Beautiful. You are loved!" And while you have their attention, tell them about the Greatest Love of all!
For further study: Proverbs 3:3, Proverbs 17:9, John 15:12-17, Romans 12:9-10, 13:8-10, 1 Cor. 8:1, Phil. 1:9, Col. 3:14, 1 Thes. 4:9, 1 John 4:7-21
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY,
Holly
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