1 John 4:10

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

1 John 4:10

Being the month of Valentine’s Day, it’s only natural that our thoughts should turn to love.

It’s one of those awkward words in the English language has holds such significance and meaning, and yet is so imprecise that it creates great confusion and sometimes heartache as well.

In the Greek, they have many different words for “love” to connote the different motivators behind it. Brotherly love, romantic love, familial love, charitable love, etc.

But what, really, is love? No matter who our love interest is, this is love… Caring enough for another person to sacrifice our wants and needs for them.

Parents do this every day, putting their hopes and dreams on hold as they learn to live vicariously through the dreams and accomplishments of their children.

Spouses do this as they recognize that someone else’s happiness completes their own.

We teach toddlers about this as we instruct them to share, be kind, watch their words, play fair, etc.

At each age and stage of life, we grow in our understanding of the meaning of love. But we can never truly understand its significance until we see it lived out before us.

God chose to do this so that we had a role model for perfect love. Not only that, but we are the object of that love.

God loved you, Lynne, James, Jonathan, Meghan, Amanda, etc. and me so much that He couldn’t leave us wallowing in our sinful nature, and receiving the consequences of that sin.

The only way He could make things right was to sacrifice His Son for us. Think about that a moment…

If you’re a parent (and the first time I thought about this this way astounding to me), who in this world would you sacrifice your firstborn child for?

I don’t know about you, but my children are precious to me. There is nothing that I wouldn’t do to keep them safe from harm. And there’s no one whom I would sacrifice them for. I’d sooner give up my own life than to cause them to lose theirs.

Sometimes, we protect our words, our writing, as closely as we would our children.

As Abraham did with Isaac, show your love and adoration for God by dedicating your words to Him. In all that you say and do, commit to reflect the love you’ve already been showered with.