True Love

This is a profound mystery -- but I am talking about Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:32)

Valentine's Day is a confusing time for Christians, because our human language uses the word "love" in such different ways.

The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8), that "true love" is what God showed us when Jesus died for us (1 John 4:10), and that God's Law is to love God and each other (Matthew 22:36-40). But a million songs, movies, cards, and candy messages tell us that love is the googly-eyed feeling that we get for our boyfriends and girlfriends (and, if we're lucky, for our wives and husbands).

Are these two types of "love" completely different? Not completely. In Ephesians 5, Paul reminds us that even with husbands and wives, LOVE is not just a googly-eyed feeling but a pattern of respect and care for one another. I'm a sucker for Valentine's Day romance, but that's because I've seen romantic emotions grow into something deeper and more permanent. Even our songs and movies, our cards and candy messages, have hints that romantic love should be more than just infatuation. If we love someone, we have to respect and care for them. True love shows itself in qualities like faithfulness and kindness, patience and generosity. These are Spiritual fruit (Gal 5:22-23). We don't need the Bible to tell us that true Spiritual love is what we hunger for. We do need the Bible to tell us that what we hunger for, is found in Jesus!

We don't need the Bible to tell us that true Spiritual love is what we hunger for. We do need the bible to tell us that what we hunger for, is found in Jesus!

So whether you have a googly-eyed Valentine or not, I hope you have people who love you the way Jesus does, with true Spiritual love. People who are real friends, and real family, and really respect and care for you.

That's the kind of community we're trying to create, as we follow Jesus and meet weekly to share his message together. The mystery of a good church reminds us of the mystery of a good marriage (Ephesians 5). It takes time, it takes mutual respect, it takes trust that God is working in us and through us beyond what we can see. Come join us in that journey each Sunday, 10 a.m., at Laughlintown Christian Church. We don't promise that you'll fall in love, but we do pray that together we will grow in true love.

(And if you let us know by this Sunday, we can also sign you up for a Valentine's Dinner at Carol and Dave's for Sunday the 15th, the day after Valentine's Day. Couples and non-couples are equally welcome!)

--Jonathan