It's here...again. The day that happy couples flood every work place flaunting their happiness and self-worth, while all the singles out there spend their day stomping on candy hearts and being cynical about their solo state.
Really?! Must we do this every year? Come on people get a grip. Valentine's day, I will admit, is not my favorite day of the year. Everything is pink, there's flowers, roses, and cheesy cards everywhere with a bunch of pet names and bow-packing babies plastered on every billboard, store window, and television commercial known to man. It's an over-done, flaky attempt at affection that I seem to be allergic too.
But underneath all the hype, the idea of the holiday is about appreciating all the special people in your life. It's about celebrating the best in people. Giving back a little of the support and affection they've given to you over the years. So let's stop all the heart stomping, rose killing, and guilt tripping. Instead let's evaluate our capacity for loving PEOPLE in general.
This year, the cute couples can stampede me and the unhappy singles can rant and rave at me; but I have bigger concerns. Such as:
Am I truly loving PEOPLE?
If God is love; I should be loving others EVERYDAY?
True love is care and affection in the absence of self-interest.
TRUE love is unconditional. Which means I should be giving it to people FREELY; just as I have received it from my Creator.
Believe it or not, in a midst all the mush and flare of Valentine's day. What the world is really missing.....is LOVE. They just don't know it yet, because their too busy trying to fulfill culture's definition of what love and self-worth is. What they are missing is TRUE, HONEST, UNSELFISH....LOVE. The brawny type of love that doesn't leave people who make mistakes, or guilt trip people who aren't perfect. The type of love that has no requirements and no expiration dates. Love that is REAL. Care based on what Christ did for us, not for what someone can offer.
Loves that reaches out, gives freely, and sacrifices unselfishly. The type of love that can only be fully understood when you know the One who created and defines it. The Love that began at the beginning of time and showed us what it looked like at the cross.
Because THIS love. . . CHANGES the world.
