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Metro Praiz
Pastor D's Spot |
 February 2006
February is one of the months of the year that I typically dread the most. Not because it is Black History month or because the month is short, but it has everything to do with that day smack, dab in the middle of the month. VALENTINE’S DAY. I am not saying I loathe the day because I do not have a Valentine, but I am expressing my discontent with the holiday because we are forced as men and even women to buy flowers, candy, cards, or other trinkets to express to our loved ones how much we love them. It seems so superficial, an unfair to parsimonious people such as I. One Valentine’s Day I made the eternal mistake of not getting my girlfriend anything, and she took it erroneously as a blatant smack in the face. She made sure I knew that the reason she was dumping me (the day after) was because I did not care enough about her to get her anything for Valentine’s Day. I will probably never make that mistake again, and when I sit back and look at it, is was a mistake on my part (Gentleman take note). However Valentine’s Day is not unlike Christmas and Easter upon which we celebrate respectively the birth and resurrection of Jesus. If as Christians we believe that God truly is the definition, and giver of love, Valentine’s Day should also be a celebration of what he has done for us. That Love word is a funny one sometimes. I may not love someone of the opposite sex romantically; however I love my family, my friends, and all of you guys. But John 15:12 says, “This is my commandment that you love one another, just as I have loved you. (NASB)” To me this suggests that love is more than just that feeling deep inside of us that we feel for a boyfriend or girlfriend, or family member. This text suggests that love goes far beyond our feelings and the little butterflies in our stomachs; it suggests that love is a command; a divine command. In the previous verse John 15:11, Jesus said he’s giving these commandments so that his followers’ joy may be full. It’s one of the many paradoxes of Jesus’ teachings. You see when you forget about our own wants, our own happiness, our own needs long enough to think about somebody else’s, our joy is made full. It brings back to my memory a quotation by Mother Teresa who said, “I have found the paradox that if I love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, but only more love.” When you truly love someone, you are willing to lay aside your interest for the interests of another. Jesus says in John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” It seems that the Biblical definition of love is one of sacrifice and service. The dictionary describes love as “a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child or friend.” The second definition is “a profoundly tender, passionate affection for a person of the opposite sex.” The third is “a strong predilection or liking for anything.” What is interesting to me is that the Biblical meaning is almost a polar opposite of the secular world’s definition of love. The world views love as a warm and fuzzy feeling, while the Bible suggests to us that love has everything to do with God’s tenderness towards his people. This month let us try to love as Jesus loved people. We find it easy to love the attractive and the lovely, but Jesus while he was on earth, loved the unlovely and unattractive. We find it easy to love the famous and the fortunate, but Jesus loved those who the world did not know or socially neglected, and especially the poor. We can love with relative ease our family members and our close friends, but Jesus loved the strangers he met and even the prodigals. It is easy for us to love those who treat us right or have our backs, but Jesus loved those who would kill him and those who talked about Him. Let us fight the temptation to only care about those who can do for us or fit in to our special circles, but let us reach out like Jesus did to those who may need our friendship and words of encouragement. I will leave you all this month with these words from I John 4:7-8, 11… “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God: and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another.” Until Next Time, Pastor Defoe Design & Layout © 2008 Gkrew Productions All rights reserved |