True Love (Issue 8-2010) By Rebecca Sheahan

The month of February is generally associated with Valentines Day. Actually, one could say February has been hijacked and held hostage by Valentines Day, chocolate, and roses. The commercials for this greeting card extravaganza start in the middle of January and don't end just because February 14th has passed us by. They make sure to push the idea of a perfect romantic love. You know, those obligatory walks on the beach at sunset, the dinners at the expensive restaurants with men in tuxes playing the violin. And these scenarios are made even more perfect by the extravagant roses and diamond heart-shaped earrings. Not that there is anything wrong with roses or diamond earrings. (I would never say no to either!) But with all this talk of cupid and chocolate, diamonds and roses, it's pretty easy to let the world's idea of perfect love replace what we believe to be true perfect love. That is, the perfect love found only in Jesus Christ.

Don't get me wrong, I love Valentines Day! My house is currently decorated like a Valentine exploded all over the walls, tables and front door. But lately I've been trying not to let the commercialization of love distract me from what God's Word says true love is really like. Last year around this same time, I sat down with 1 Corinthians 13 and copied the attributes of true love onto a bunch of hearts I had cut out of paper. In doing this I had to stop and look carefully at each individual description. As I copied out "Love is Patient" and "Love Never Fails," the difference between what the world says love is, and what God's Word says love is, was pretty obvious. I mean, have you ever seen a Valentine's card that said "Love means always acting becomingly"? Just once, I'd love to see a valentine's commercial that says "Love is long suffering" or "love endures all things." But I guess it'd be hard to sell chocolate that way.

Ultimately, God didn't just tell us what love is like, He showed us through His Son, Jesus. There is another day in February that doesn't get commercials or its own section at Hallmark. Ash Wednesday is a day that marks the beginning of the Lent, and is customarily a day of fasting and confession. And you get ashes in the shape of a cross on your forehead. Not very romantic. While it's not warm and fuzzy and dipped in chocolate, it is a great way to think about love. That ultimate gift of love. As it says in John 13:1 "Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love."

And how did He show the full extent of His love? By dying an excruciating death on the cross for us. Again, I'd like to see a Valentine's commercial with that as its tagline!

I would like to encourage you this February to consider the difference between the love that the world tries to sell us, and the Love that God shows us through the Cross. Let's not miss out on a love that satisfies in a way that chocolate, roses, and long walks on the beach, never can.