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…and then she said to me, “I love loving
the people who are special and love me.” Huh? Wait a minute here, it sounds
like the quintessence of selfishness. But then she continued to talk, not
realizing my perplexity:
“I love all things sweet and sappy and
sentimental. I love red puffy hearts and pink shiny bows and glittery
Valentine cards. I love heart-shaped pancakes in the morning, heart-shaped
sandwiches at lunch and heart-shaped pizzas for dinner. I love presents covered
in heart wrapping paper and red heart-shaped chocolates.”
Now I got it. She was in love with the
idea of love. She loves Valentine’s day first, and then some of the people
around her: family, work buddies, church people. She loves expressing-the-love,
more than the love per se.
Then I realized that I may be on the same
path. Me sending V cards and giving V presents and sweets as a cultural trend,
moral obligation and also to hear the feed-back, “oh, thank you, your are so
nice, so sweet, so…” No, I am not. I am trying to be, but by nature I’m
selfish.
I can be so easy to get wrapped up in the
“sweet celebration of love” that I forget where all this love really came from.
“We love each other because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19)
Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be just
about us. If we are as intentional about loving Him as we are about expressing
our love to each other, the whole day can still bring glory to the God.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the
Father of lights. (James 1:17).
Love is a verb. Love your loved ones in a practical way beyond the paper hearts and Kiss candies. Call your parents and in-laws.
Go out of your way to serve your children/ grand-children and celebrate them today. Do something special for your love ones.
Let your family feel
not the love of Valentine’s Day, but the love of God reflected through you.
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