I've just ordered my wife's flowers, and even thought about getting her a card and chocolates too, 'cause isn't that what we're meant to do to show our affections for those we love, on Valentine's day? This day of cherishing true love has become a slushy, over-commercialised (and falsely advertised) day of consumerism and superficialism.
"Love is all around us..."
And so, might I submit to you that in fact, those particular song lyrics are unfounded and untrue, that it is not 'love', but 'lust' that is all around us. Images of beautiful couples, eating oysters in fancy, overpriced restaurants and exchanging the fanciest gifts that they can. So how do we break free from the image of 'love' that the media has seduced us with? By seeking out what it really means to love. The scriptures say that '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) When we look at that description of Love, many of us would fall short by a mile! However, here's the thing, even though humanistically, those verses seem unobtainable to most couples with busy or stressful lives. We still have a shot at getting it right because, 'We love because he first loved us.' (1 John 4:19) We can show real love, because we have been loved 'with an everlasting love' ( Jeremiah 31:3)
So, I buy into a little of the hype of Valentine's day, not because it is the 'socially acceptable' thing to do, but because I love, because I am loved. It has been said that 'He who has been forgiven much, loves much.' And, I just so happen to agree...
Happy Valentine's Day!
Pastor Richard Taylor x
"Love is all around us..."
And so, might I submit to you that in fact, those particular song lyrics are unfounded and untrue, that it is not 'love', but 'lust' that is all around us. Images of beautiful couples, eating oysters in fancy, overpriced restaurants and exchanging the fanciest gifts that they can. So how do we break free from the image of 'love' that the media has seduced us with? By seeking out what it really means to love. The scriptures say that '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) When we look at that description of Love, many of us would fall short by a mile! However, here's the thing, even though humanistically, those verses seem unobtainable to most couples with busy or stressful lives. We still have a shot at getting it right because, 'We love because he first loved us.' (1 John 4:19) We can show real love, because we have been loved 'with an everlasting love' ( Jeremiah 31:3)
So, I buy into a little of the hype of Valentine's day, not because it is the 'socially acceptable' thing to do, but because I love, because I am loved. It has been said that 'He who has been forgiven much, loves much.' And, I just so happen to agree...
Happy Valentine's Day!
Pastor Richard Taylor x
