The Truth About . .

 

We live in a world that confuses love with lust, greed, romance, and covetousness. Children are bombarded with bad examples of "what love is" and wrongly taught "how to love" from the time they are born.  I say these things recognizing the enormous plank in my own eye.  I often speak of loving inanimate objects when I really just like them a whole lot.  I have been known to love others with selfish intentions, and I do not always love unconditionally.  And, I confess that I have a very hard time loving "hard to love" people.  

In light of the world's misconceptions of love (and our failure to always exhibit pure and godly love) we decided to be intentional this Valentine's season to teach our children the truth about love-- what God, who IS love, says about love in His Word.
For the last two
weeks we have discussed (as a family) and displayed verses and passages (in our dining room) that provide a biblical view of love, as well as God's expectations for believers, as we are called to love.  It has led to many wonderful conversations with Hannah and Madeline; and, I have been delighted to see them, by God's grace, practice loving one another according to God's standards--spurring one another on and reminding one another of the verses they have learned.

This Valentine's Day I pray that my children will know God--that they will abide in love, and that God will abide in them.  I pray that God will have their hearts long before they put it in the hands of another.  And, I pray that by God's grace Jonathan and I will always display godly love in our marriage to the little eyes and ears that are always watching and listening.  I pray that our marriage will demonstrate selflessness, loyalty, romantic affection that increases and deepens with years, and unconditional love.

"God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." 1John 4:16

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  Love never ends."  1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment."  Matthew 22:37-38

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  Matthew 22:39