Riff's Christian Journal

February has the biggest love holiday of the year. Of course, it is Valentine’s Day, the day of love.

What, however, does love do? What does love not do? Good questions and we can find the best answer lies in the bible. If you look at these verses from 1st Corinthians 13 you will see the answers that you seek.

1Co 13:4  Love is patient, and is kind; love is not jealous; love does not boast, does not brag, 

1Co 13:5  Does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; 

1Co 13:6  Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 

1Co 13:7  Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

In short, the person whom you love should come first in your life. You should put their needs and desires before your own. You should look out for their interest and give of yourself to please them. If you cannot do this with the one whom you say that you love then you really are not in love with them. You may like them, and you may like them a lot but, if you cannot put them first in your life, no matter how they are with you, then you honestly do not love them.

The thing is that with sin in your life you always want for yourself first. Everyone must come after, and should do as you want and put your needs first.

The only way that you can love as God intends for us to love is to come to God on His terms and love Him with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your strength and with all of your mind. If you cannot do this, you will never be able to love as we have seen in the above verses that we should.

To love, as God intends, is to sacrifice yourself in order to please another. Jesus sacrificed Himself to save others, from facing the wrath of God, because of His love for them. He put their needs first and, by His love for them, provided forgiveness for their sins.

True love is to love as Jesus did. If you cannot do so, then how can you say you love someone if you will not put them first? It is said that love is blind. You may be so blind that what you think is love may not be love at all. It may just be infatuation.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things, but only when that love is coupled with the love of God that comes to those who loves Jesus. Would you not like to love as Jesus loves? You can.

If you will repent of your sinfulness in offending a Holy God, and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord of your life and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will find that you have been forgiven and are being loved by God as His own. With that kind of love, flowing from Him to you, you will find that you will soon be able to love others as God loves you.

Only then will you be able to love as God intends and that will fill you in return with a love that you have never before felt in this lifetime. It is a love that is everlasting, comforting and sacrificial, because it is love that God, in Christ Jesus, first gave to you. You see, we can only love God and love others as God intended because it is a love that He first gave to us. God is love.

Make this a wonderful Valentine’s day by loving as only God can love and truly put that loved one first in your life. Love them with God’s love.