February is all about LOVE! That’s the message that surrounds us as we prepare for Valentine’s Day and all the required expressions of LOVE that are required in this Season of “Hearts, Cards and Flowers.”
But, let’s make it simple. LOVE (from our Christian perspective) is meant to be love shared in RELATIONSHIP. Here are the three forces at work:
FIRST: God loves us –
SECOND: We love God, and…
THIRD: God wants a relationship with us where RELATIONAL LOVE “is the reason for the season!” It’s 1 + 1 = 2.
Let me see if I can explain it simply.
In John 3:16, God reminds us: “For God so loved the world that God gave His only begotten son.”
God introduces an “agape” unconditional love for us as it is demonstrated in His creative, expressive, never-ending, everlasting love for us – God’s creation – God’s valentine to us!
In Matthew 22:47, we are reminded of the “Greatest Commandment” to “Love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (and love our neighbor as ourself ).” God does not want us to struggle to know what He wants from us. So, He makes it simply clear: “God loves us and we are so loved that we cannot help but love God in return. It’s all about being in relationship with God. That is our valentine to us and back to God!
From the beginning of time, God said “it was not good for us to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) So, God gave us relationships.
I’m confident that much of what we’re to gain and learn and experience in relationships is to aid us in mirroring the kind of connection God wants with us. God loves us and we love God and love others that God brings into our daily life. Maybe think of it this way: God shows us glimpses of himself through those He puts in our lives and we enjoy relationship with those people (and God) each day. Which also means that you get to be a tangible expression of God’s love for people in your life and they, in return, give love back to you which mirrors the relationship that God wants to have with us. 1 + 1 = 2. Wow. What a cool, even overwhelming, reality! My ONE WORD for February is RELATIONSHIP! It’s really a God thing!
We will be talking about that each Sunday in February. Stop in and get a re-charge in your relationship building! Share the Love! Go Be the Church!
