love… it’s not just an emotion…

It’s Valentines’ Day… a day when emotions run high… some good… some not so good…

Those with a true love in their lives may find themselves elated… but some beloveds experience disappointment… when high expectations go unmet…

Others… those who find themselves alone… on a day defined by love… may be depressed… and feel even lonelier…

But no one need be excluded… no one left unloved… because He is Love…

So we have to come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16 ESV

God is love… and He showed us His great unfailing love through His Son who came and died so we might live…

…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:9 ESV

The love God has for creation… the love He calls us to… it’s not just an emotion… it’s a verb to choose… you don’t have to wait to feel love before you give love…

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV

God defines love… models love… and reaches out in love…

And no… love does not always feel good… sometimes it’s lonely… sometimes it’s hard… but sometimes… it’s so much joy… it can hardly be endured…

For the joy promised… for living a life of love… choose love… whether you feel like it or not…

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! Psalm 126:5 ESV