Love is a beautiful thing?
Linda Soller | Feb 18, 2013
Well another Valentine’s Day has come and gone and I’m guessing you survived. Did you find yourself worrying about what to give someone or anxious about what gift you might or might not receive? Like so much that we humans do we’ve managed to turn a holiday celebrating love into one about getting things. Maybe you’ve heard it said that love is a beautiful thing. Love’s a feeling, an emotional reaction, it’s many things, but not just any old thing.
A co-worker pointed out the other day that the little candy hearts are really unique in their connection to one holiday, Valentine’s Day. You see them and think, Valentine’s Day. But the other day she grabbed one from the candy dish and it said “Text Me”. Now there is a weak statement of affection if I’ve ever heard one. Florists live for Valentine’s Day because giving flowers, especially roses, has become a symbol of the holiday. Unfortunately there’s no guarantee that there is real love to back them up.
We love things, this is true. We like to have things that send messages or make statements about our power, wealth, influence, and taste. We use things to impress in the positive and negative sense of the word. For some reason we seem to feel like objects speak louder than words or actions.
Remember in the Bible, the rich young man who came to Jesus so proud of his well lived life. He was all set to follow Jesus until he was asked to get rid of his things, the trappings of his wealth. Jesus said to give it all away and then he should follow. I can almost see that young man’s face. He was likely very disappointed that having behaved well all those years was not enough. He was attached to the trappings of his wealth which showed others that he was rich and influential. Jesus didn’t object to the things the young man owned but he challenged the young man’s attachment to those things.
This past weekend I had help from family to paint my living room. It was a gesture of love. My family gave me their time and energy to help me accomplish a goal. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me to have their help. If you had seen my living room before the paint job you would agree that this was a big deal. God wants us to give of ourselves. He wants our energy, our efforts, our thoughts, and our love. He is not looking for things. Love is beautiful, but it’s not just any old thing.
Have a great week :o) Linda