
In February, we celebrate Valentine’s Day – a holiday that focuses on love.
God’s Holy Word says many things about love!
The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8), that He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and that out of his great love for us He sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to save us and to pay the penalty for our sins (John 3:16).
The Bible also teaches us that the two greatest commands are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love others (Luke 10:27). As Christians, we are called to live a life of love and are challenged to express our faith through love (Galatians 5:6).
It’s easy to mentally agree with the scriptures teachings on love, but it is much harder to put into practice! It’s difficult to love someone who annoys us and even more difficult to love someone who has deeply hurt us. And let’s be honest, our world tries to divide us into groups and then tries to get us to hate those who are not in our group. Many Democrats hate Republicans and vice versa. Many liberal Christians dislike conservative Christians and vice versa.
But friends, that’s not how it’s supposed to be. God created all of us and all of us are extremely valuable to God and we are all worthy of love! So, as Christians, let us strive to love everyone. The Apostle John says it this way, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” Let’s show the world we know God and that we have been born again – let’s do this by loving everyone and looking for ways to express our faith through loving words and deeds.
There’s an old hymn that says, “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love! Yes, they will know we are Christians by our love!”
This year, let’s reject hatred and division, and let’s show the world God’s love!
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