Love is in the air. Valentine\u2019s Day is a romantic\ntime designated to express our love. Saint Valentine was a priest who was\nexecuted on February 14, 270 A.D. His crime was secretly marrying couples in\nancient Rome against Emperor Claudius\u2019 wishes who felt marriage made his\nsoldiers soft. According to legend, Saint Valentine prayed for and healed Judge\nAsterius\u2019 daughter of blindness, leading to his conversion. His last words\nbefore his execution were written on a note to her which he signed, \u201cfrom your\nValentine.\u201d Thus, the tradition began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valentine\u2019s Day is now a multi-billion-dollar\nindustry. Lovers will spend over $20 billion in the U.S. on Valentine gifts\u2014chocolate,\njewelry, cards, candy, flowers, dinner, movies, lingerie, and more. Beware, Cupid\nis aiming his arrows at you. Truly, love involves giving\u2014\u201cFor God so loved\nthe world that He gave<\/strong> . . .\u201d<\/em> (Jn. 3:16). When we express our love by\ngiving, we are following the divine example. Love is a two-way street. Love\nmust be returned to be complete. It must be given and received. If it\u2019s all\none-sided, it won\u2019t last long. Love, like tennis, is a two-player game. The old\nsaying is true: \u201cA bell\u2019s not a bell till you ring it, a song\u2019s not a song till\nyou sing it. Love in your heart is not put there to stay. Love isn\u2019t love till\nyou give it away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n True love is hard to hide and must find\nexpression. God expressed His love for us in actions not just words. Jesus, who\nwas love personified, taught and modeled true, agape love. \u201cThis is My\ncommandmentthat you love<\/em> [agapao<\/em>] one another as I have\nloved you\u201d<\/em> (Jn. 15:12). This was not a suggestion if we feel like it and we\ncertainly can\u2019t do it within ourselves. It takes God\u2019s help for \u201cGod is love\u201d<\/em>\n(1 Jn. 4:7-8). We are by nature selfish and unloving; that\u2019s why we must be\nborn again with a new, divine nature. God\u2019s greatest expression of love was\nCalvary\u2014sacrificing His own son to save us. \u201cGreater\nlove has no one than this, than to lay down one\u2019s life for his friends\u201d<\/em> (Jn. 15:13). Jesus went above and beyond that and laid down His life for\nHis enemies. God even loved us when we were unlovable! \u201cBut God demonstrates\nHis own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us\u201d<\/em>\n(Rom. 5:8). Dottie Rambo\u2019s song lyrics say it well: \u201cHe left His splendor in\nheaven, knowing His destiny was the lonely hill of Golgotha, there to lay down\nHis life for me. If that isn\u2019t love the ocean is dry, there\u2019s no stars in the\nsky, and the sparrows can\u2019t fly. If that isn\u2019t love then heaven\u2019s a myth,\nthere\u2019s no feeling like this, if that isn\u2019t love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are five main ways we express love (author\nGary Chapman calls them the \u201cFive Love Languages\u201d in his excellent book): <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Words of Affirmation<\/strong>: Say supportive, loving things to your partner. Words are powerful. Words can heal or harm. The old saying, \u201csticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me\u201d is not true. Our words are either like a wrecking ball (destructive) or like mortar (constructive). Don\u2019t criticize or put down your mate with unkind words. Instead, affirm their value and worth with soft, uplifting words. 3. Giving Gifts<\/strong>: A simple present lets your spouse know you care and have been thinking about them. It doesn\u2019t have to be expensive (like a new car) just something thoughtful. Loving is expressed through giving. You can give without loving but you can\u2019t love without giving! Consider the four greatest instances in which Jesus expressed His love with actions not just words: Love is in the air. Valentine\u2019s Day is a romantic time designated to express our love. Saint Valentine was a priest who was executed on February 14, 270 A.D. His crime was secretly marrying couples in ancient Rome against Emperor Claudius\u2019 wishes who felt marriage made his soldiers soft. According to legend, Saint Valentine prayed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=644"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":647,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/644\/revisions\/647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodspringsfgc.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
2. Acts of Service<\/strong>: Go out of your way to do kind, practical things for your partner. Love is not just words; it is proven with actions. We know faith without works is dead; love without works is dead too. \u201cLittle children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions\u201d<\/em> (1 Jn. 3:18, TLB). Talk is cheap, except when congress does it. True love is displayed in how we treat people (1 Cor. 13:4-8, 13). Plus, the way we treat people is the way we treat God (Mt. 25:40).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Quality Time<\/strong>: Spend meaningful time with your partner. This is getting harder to do in our busy, distracted culture. Put down the cell phones, take a break from the hectic schedule, talk to, and focus on each other. Give your spouse your undivided attention regularly.
5. Physical Touch<\/strong>: Hold hands, give back rubs, neck messages, and put an arm around each other. If you\u2019re not married, keep your hands to yourself. If you are married, keep hugging, petting, snuggling, kissing, and making love (it\u2019s biblical\u20141 Cor. 7:3-5). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Jesus washed His disciple\u2019s feet. <\/strong>This included Judas,even though He knew Judas would betray Him only hours later. At the Last Supper, Jesus poured water into a basin and washed His disciple\u2019s feet. In Bible times, that was a servant\u2019s job, but none of them were rich enough to hire servants. Imagine, the King of the universe bending down to wash the stinky feet of fishermen. If that isn\u2019t love, then I don\u2019t know what is!Some call it\u201cbasin theology.\u201dPilate used a basin to wash his hands to avoid getting involved; Jesus used a basin to get involved and to serve by washing feet. Which basin will we choose?
2.<\/strong> Jesus Healed Malchus. <\/strong>A servant of the high priest, Malchus wasthe last person Jesus healed.Hewas in the mob who came to arrest Jesus in Gethsemane. In the chaos, Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus as a scuffle ensued. He probably aimed for his head, but Malchus ducked, and Peter chopped off his ear. In one of the most amazing displays of compassion, Jesus picked up the warm, bloody ear of His enemy and lovingly reattached it to his head. If Jesus healed His enemy, how much more will He heal His friends. If that isn\u2019t love, then I don\u2019t know what is!
3. Jesus forgave His own murderers. <\/strong>Jesus cried from the cross, \u201cFather, forgive them; for they know not what they do\u201d<\/em> (Lk. 23:34). He not only forgave the Jews who conspired His death and the Romans who executed it, but every sinner whose sins made His death necessary\u2014including us! Once God\u2019s enemies, we are now His friends (Col. 1:21, Jn 15:14-15). If Jesus forgave His enemies, how much more will He forgive His own children (Rom. 5:8-10). If that isn\u2019t love, then I don\u2019t know what is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4.<\/strong> Jesus saved the crook on the cross. <\/strong>Two criminals were crucified on either side of Christ. Both blasphemed Him at first. Then one had a drastic change of heart. One was saved; the other was lost. One was forgiven; one was condemned. One went to heaven; one went to hell. One\u2019s heart was hardened by hate; one\u2019s heart was melted by love. One cursed God with his dying breath; the other uttered a soul-saving prayer. What caused the redeemed robber to change his mind and call on Jesus? Perhaps when he saw Christ forgive His own executioners, it had a profound impact on him. His eyes were opened when he witnessed such an extreme expression of love.
The cursing crook was so moved by Jesus\u2019 love, it ignited faith in his heart that he too could be saved. His sincere, nine-word prayer changed his eternal destiny: \u201cLord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom\u201d<\/em> (Lk. 23:42). <\/em>The only thing they had in common was their method of execution. One was a convicted criminal, the other the just judge of all the earth. One was as guilty as sin, the other was the only innocent man to ever live. That thief, though crucified on earth for his crimes, now walks a free man in heaven. If Jesus saved a desperate, dying thief, how much more will He help and save you. If that isn\u2019t love, then I don\u2019t know what is!
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