Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

It’s hard to believe that it’s February already, but seeing that it is, this means Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Soon, many will be exchanging heart shaped boxes of candy, cards, or cute little valentines. Others will be delivering flowers to workplaces, going out to dinner at a special restaurant, leaving for a romantic getaway or scheming other creative ways to express love to someone special.

For many, February 14 marks a day to celebrate love, while there are others who reject it as a materialistic, commercialized waste of time. Nevertheless, Valentine’s Day is big business, and according to the National Retail Foundation, it typically adds more than $17 billion to the U.S. economy each year – making retail spending for this day the second largest behind Christmas. Thanks to the mass commercialization of Valentine’s Day, love is everywhere. Love is all around us!

Is it really, though? I mean, sure, our culture has become highly skilled in and dedicated to promoting romance. I can’t tell you the number of jewelry commercials I typically see on TV around this time. But while romance is as abundant as ever, it seems that love is a different story. And at least in my opinion, it seems love is much harder to come by in the public eye these days. Violence always leads off the nightly news, and public discourse has become hostile to the extent that political differences have driven wedges between families and friends.

But as people united in Christ, we are called by God to love others even if it’s not the most popular thing to do. And fortunately for us, we’ve been given a great resource to help us do this – The Bible. One of the best descriptions of love comes to us in the Scripture text quoted above, written by the Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthian church. These words to the Corinthians are some of the most enduring words in the Bible and they are familiar to many people because they are often read at weddings.

Despite that common use, though, the implications of the kind of love described in 1 Corinthians 13 are wide-ranging. Loving with this sort of patience and gentleness invites others into our lives and provides intimate ground for relationships to grow. Strangers whom we may at first stereotype into a category become individual people we truly see, know, and appreciate. Love like Paul describes can bring down the walls of fear and conflict that seem to be so effectively separating people right now.

This is the kind of love God calls us to offer to the world not only this February or this Valentine’s Day, but every day. So brothers and sisters, I invite all of us to let this love be our Valentine to everyone, but most importantly to God. And let us show this love God has for us in Jesus Christ by offering it to others.

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:14)

Peace,

Pastor Tony