Do you remember (or should I say are you old enough to remember), the cute little "Love is..." characters that were so collectible several years back? Sure you do! I remember them from my childhood. I think every lady had a cabinet or shelf full of the little figurines. They were so adorable!!! Each one was encrycpted with a different thought provoking "Love is.." phrase. Awww, how sweet!!!
Why, you might ask, am I thinking about these sweet little characters?...Well, it's February!!...You know, the month of
LOVE. Before you know it Valentine's Day will be here. Cards, flowers and chocolates will be purchased and given to a many of "loved" ones in just a few short days. It's such a wonderful time to reflect on those special relationships and people God has placed in our lives and to just simply let them know that you LOVE them. I absolutely love Valentine's Day. Don't you?
Recently, well actually over the past few months, the Monday night bible study group I attend at First Apostolic Church has been studying the subject of "Building Godly Relationships". Our studies in the past couple of weeks have focused on biblical love...how fitting seeing as how the month of love has arrived, right?
I must say I have learned some things about love that I personally need to work on. Of course, I know love is more than just giving out some chocolates and saying "I love you" to a few special people, but to tell the truth, after studying the definition of love that the bible gives, I feel somewhat (a lot) shallow... True love goes way deeper than anything I can honestly say I have ever given.
As the case manager of a law firm which practices domestic and family law, I can tell you that most people's definition of love is NOT love at all. I have personally witnessed the rise of divorce in our country as it increases greatly each year simply because of a lack of true biblical love. We live in an age of "throw away relationships". The age of "when I get tired of you, you're gone", "you are disposable".
When the relationship is fresh the words "I love you" parade off their lips. Passion and desire consume their every thought, but somewhere along the line their "love" for one another wanes. Why is that? It's because they have never truly loved that person. Their relationship was based merely on lust or desire, not love. You see, love is more than just some heartfelt, lustful emotion that is here today and gone tomorrow...
LOVE IS...
Oh yes, love is a lot of things, patient, kind; and oh, one more thing...love NEVER fails!! (1 Corin. 13:8). There's no such thing as "throw away love" and, if you really dig into the definition of love as the bible explains it, you would be amazed to see just what love truly is and where your love stands in comparison to it. Let me tell you, it's way more than flowers, chocolates and a few spoken words...it is the epitomy of God...for God is love (1 John 4:8 & 4:16), and we are commanded to love one another with a pure heart fervently (1 Peter 1:22), which is a VERY tall order but so very rewarding. Love is power to those who embrace it.
There is more to love than I could possibly share in this or a million more blog posts but I must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed studying this subject in bible study class. What's better is that I am starting to see wonderful changes in my life and my home as a result of those studies. If you would like to know more about what LOVE IS and how to attain the agape love that the Bible so defines, please contact me. Our bible studies are recorded and I can get CD's (free of charge) for you to listen to in your spare time in the privacy of your home or car. These lessons would be a great benefit to any individual who listens to and applies them in their life. You can also listen to future bible study sessions online every Monday evening beginning at 7:30 p.m. central standard time. Go to:
http://www.theoriginalfaith.com/live.html
