Love Is Something You Do

People say it makes the world go ‘round. It’s the subject of more songs and poems than any other topic. It is so important that a holiday has been dedicated to it. Go into any store this weekend, and you can’t miss the reminders. In our local Wal-Mart this week, I saw seven aisles dedicated to Valentine’s Day merchandise.

Since all of us tend to think about the subject of Love during the second week of February, I’m jumping on the bandwagon. But I’m not going to talk about the kind of love most people do—that magical feeling that makes us lose our appetite, and some might say, lose our minds!

We hear many things about love, but most of us understand so little about true, sacrificial love. Jim and I were part of an ensemble that presented a Valentine’s Day musical program several years ago. One of our songs said, “Love is something that’s real, love is something that’s true. Love is something you feel, but most of all, love is something you do.”

We tend to think of love as something ethereal …a feeling that’s hard to describe or put your finger on. But the Bible says that love expresses itself in very down-to-earth ways.  As 1 Corinthians 13 tells us, Love is patient, kind, not envious, boastful, or rude. It is not selfish or easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs. Love protects, trusts, hopes, endures, and never fails. Does this describe your love for your mate, children, and others? It helps me see that my love often comes up short.

If you want to see a true love story, look to the kind of people who have spent their lives sacrificially giving to their families and to one another despite great hardship and despite the allure of other pleasures. Look to those who put their spouse’s and children’s needs ahead of their own. The kind of love that makes a Dad like mine go out day after day in the freezing cold or stifling heat to work long, hard hours providing for his family. The kind of love that makes a Mother like mine give up the hope of a life she might enjoy and dedicate her entire life to her husband, children, and family. The kind of love that keeps a man and woman together for 58 years, until they are parted by death, long after the magic of new love has faded away. That’s the definition of true love.

But if you want to see a perfect love story, look to Jesus, the Source of all love, and the One whose purpose in life was to give us eternal life. He left the splendor of Heaven knowing His destiny was death on a cross. His sacrificial love was an example of something we can never achieve, but only hope to emulate. When He was betrayed in Gethsemane, He reaffirmed that love, by not using His unlimited power to call legions of angels who could rescue Him immediately. It was not the nails, but that perfect love that held Him to the cross where he purchased our salvation at unspeakable cost.

Love is not cheap. In fact, it is the most costly thing we can give. As you give gifts to those you love this weekend, remember that your gift is only a symbol of what your actions show each day. Otherwise the gift is meaningless.

True love, sacrificial love, really is something we do. That’s what I think…what do you think? Share your thoughts about love with me and others by posting a comment below.