With Valentine’s day just in the rear view mirror it’s the perfect time to talk about love.
Whether you celebrate Valentine’s day or not (I believe it to be a personal preference) you can’t argue that the day encourages people show love towards one another.
Chocolates, flowers, and romantic dinners are just a few of the ways that people express love on Valentine’s day.
But the love that we often characterize as an outward offering of some gift or action doesn’t always line up with the way love is defined in the Bible.
In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Paul states
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.
Furthermore 1 John 4:8 reads
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
So it appears there is a conflict between the world and biblical view of love.
If we believe that God is love then true love cannot simply be expressed by action or words but has to flow out of the heart’s true intentions.
Love is a constant force that through the Holy Spirit shapes our every thought and action accordingly.
Our end goal is not to express love but to become love.
Frank Turner
Frank Turner is the founder of Break Bread, Break Chains and is the co-host of the following podcasts: Defund The Church, Relative Currency, Politically Entertaining, and Christ over Crypto. He is also the founder and creator of the op-ed site Fake News Syndicate.