Tomorrow is Valentine’s
Day. You can go struggle or google for
yourself the beginning of the holiday and the tradition, yet I want to remind
you that the first one who ever loved us was God. We’ve come to know that personally.
It never gets old to hear someone
talked about how they learned that God loved them. Yesterday I listened to the testimony of a
man who hasn’t been in church in many years, but something clicked this
week. He is not only back in church but
sharing His faith.
Coming to know and believe
God’s unconditional love changes every thing.
God loves us, His children, no matter what. He loved us when we were in sin. He loved us before anyone else could love
us. God will love us when everyone else
has forgotten us. Real love is something
that we have to learn or must learn best from our God.
Thus, I will turn this
post to be bit more personal in nature.
I don’t have to guess who my valentine is. 20 and a half years ago I married my
valentine. She is Julie, and we have
shared so much through the years.
Proverbs 18:22 NLT
The man who
finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from
the Lord.
The favor of God is one
thing we must Sunday and seek. One of
the first ways I saw a clear picture of His favor was in the returned love from
Julie and before we were married.
I know my mom loved me
unconditionally, but this other demonstrated this God kind of love in sweet and
refreshing ways. And she keeps on.
Love is
patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or
proud
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful,
and endures through every circumstance.
Let’s be honest. Loving is not always easy. We need the “love chapter” of 1 Corinthians
13 to remind us of how we experience and how we give this love. One of the best ties that comes with the
giving and receiving of love is the word “hope”. Love offers hope.
Authentic love doesn’t
give possible hope or partial hope. Real
love gives complete hope. Nothing will
remove that love. This love is always
faithful. God’s love is …. It is always
present and always real.
I’ve experienced this from
my valentine. Julie embodies what love
looks like, acts like and how it exists.
And I am so grateful.
Colossians 3:19 NLT
Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
That’s a commandment with
a promise. I draw your attention to
something I heard some time ago and have heard several times since. Whatever we give our wives, they will give
back. Is it good? It is bad that we give them? Real love offers the best and brings out the
best in the ones we love.
It is a challenge for a
husband to love His wife the way God tells us to love. That is not because our wives are hard to
love. It is because the world has so
perverted love and our flawed lives lead us to be selfish and to offer love
based on conditions. That is far from
how God loves us and how we are to love others.
Psalm 33:22 NLT
Let your
unfailing love surround us,
Lord, for our hope is in you
alone.
God’s love surrounds
us. God’s love builds our hope like
nothing else can.
Proverbs 31:30 NLT
Charm is
deceptive, and beauty does not
last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
That’s my valentine. Julie is beautiful, more today and when we
met 21 years ago. She is worthy of my
praise and encouragement. She is worth
of even more then the love that I can give to or share with her.
So, let me give you a big
of a challenge… stop allowing your valentine to change! Like a young teen, stop giving your love to
only those who will accept it and meet your needs. Stop living out conditional love. Start living out authentic, kind and
unconditional hope that is based in God’s kind of love. People need that. My valentine is that.
Colossians 2:2 NLT
I want them
to be encouraged and knit together by strong
ties of love. I want them to
have complete confidence that they understand God’s mysterious plan, which is
Christ himself.
That is what God wants for
you and me. We can allow and even must
allow our relationships to brew real love that brings out the best the people
we share love with.
I am excited that on Valentine’s
Day and every day my Julie is my gift from God.
I love her and pray that she not only knows it but believes.
Happy Valentine’s Day, my
Julie!!!
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