First Baptist Church of Herndon

All you need is love!

Linda Soller | Feb 04, 2013

Well February is here and you can consider this your first reminder that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Valentine’s Day is a heart- warming celebration (pun intended), in the midst of winter’s cold. Like so many other celebrations, Valentine’s Day means different things to different people. For little kids there’s the valentine box where your classmates place their obligatory cards. Those cards tend toward the funny and cartoonish love. As you get older it’s either something you dream about or something you dread. We’ve all been through both of those stages. As you continue to age it can become expensive and stressful. You’ve got to pick just the right card and maybe a gift, but if a gift what kind of gift? If you’re in a relationship it becomes that day you don’t dare forget or else! Finally there is the stage where it becomes a time to remind friends and family how special they are to you.  Yes, Valentine’s Day takes on all sorts of meanings and descriptions. I’m okay with that because love is different things to different people too.

In the Bible we can read about all types of love. There’s lust that feels like love in the story of David and Bathsheba. There’s family love in the story of Naomi and Ruth, in the story of the prodigal son, and in the story of Lazarus’ death, to name a few. There’s the special love of a mother and father that carried Mary and Joseph through so many challenges as they brought Jesus safely in to the world and raised him so he could fulfill his purpose. There’s plenty of love to spread around in the Bible, even love gone astray, like the story of Joseph, his brothers, and that colorful coat. I’m okay with that too, because if the Bible didn’t deal with the good and the bad of life we’d miss so many valuable lessons. But the most important love discussed in the Bible, in my humble opinion, is love of our fellow man.

We can chat casually about Valentine’s Day, but the harsh truth is not everyone feels loved. Funny cards and candy hearts won’t change that. All over the world people live day to day without feeling love. How can that be in a world with so much to offer? Unfortunately it happens because love has to be shared and mankind, including you and me, can be pretty selfish. In Paul’s letters to the early churches he often speaks of love and caring for each other, of generosity of spirit, of support for the greater good. Those things are love at the highest level. That love springs from a love for God. We’re not floating on an island; the world has grown smaller. The love we share can’t be saved for just the familiar or near at hand. If all we need is love then it stands to reason that everyone deserves to have it.  In his letter to the Corinthians Paul wrote, “Faith, hope, love abide these three, but the greatest of these is love.”  Love can offer hope, love can strengthen faith, and love can carry you when you can’t make it on your own.  As the winter winds remind us of how cold and unforgiving this world can be; we must remember every day that all you need is love and love is meant to be shared.

Have a great week :o) Linda