Musings on Love for Valentine's Day

For some people, Valentine's Day is the most obnoxious holiday on the calendar. Whether it's because of all the mushy-gushy stuff that surrounds you that may not be a reflection of what's going on in your personal life, or the pop-culture pressure to buy big gifts for someone dear to you on a seemingly random day in February, there are a variety of reasons that people recoil a bit at the thought of February 14.

Truth be told, I recoil, at least somewhat, at the mention of "love" in any context. You may be familiar with the famous words that the Apostle Paul wrote about love in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 13. There he said that love is patient, kind, not envying or boasting, not self-seeking, and keeps no record of wrongs. The reason that I recoil so often at the thought of love is because I look at a list like that and I realize I haven't loved like that. I haven't loved my spouse with that kind of love; I haven't loved my children with that kind of love; I haven't loved my friends with that kind of love; I haven't loved my relatives with that kind of love.

My love is often so self-centered and focused on me, and me alone. The natural inclinations of my heart are, "What good can I receive from this situation? If I show 'love' or kindness to someone, what will I get in return?" That's a far cry from Paul's definition of love!

But there is something beautiful to be gained from journeying through God's definition of love. While you and I haven't loved like that, at least not all the time, God has. He continually shows us love over and over again, even when we don't deserve it. That's the truest definition of that beautiful word "grace": undeserved love.

God expressed that love most completely to us in a way that we could never even imagine, nor could we have dreamed it up. Paul wrote to the Romans, "At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-8). 

Do you see Paul's point about God's love? He didn't love us looking to get something out of us. He didn't love us because we had something great in us or had done something nice for him that he then felt we had merited his love. No, just the opposite. We were sinners, which meant that our misdeeds had separated us from him. He demands perfection; we were anything but. So rather than giving up on us, rather than throwing us away, God loved us who didn't deserve it to fix what we had broken. He sent his own Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life that we could not, and then credited that perfect life to my account and your account. Jesus died on the cross, an innocent man, but there paid the price for my sins, and your sins, even every time we have not loved like we should have. The guilt and the grief is gone. All that remains is God's beautiful grace, that love that he showed to us even though we did not know it or deserve it. Now, instead of being separated from him, we are members of his family. Instead of fearing that he will cast us aside, we know he will bring us to be with him forever in that perfect home of heaven.

On this Valentine's Day, if all the pink and red and flowers and candy are getting to you, put them out of your mind. Focus instead, not on fleeting, flawed, earthly love, but on the perfect love of God that loves and forgives at every moment of every day. May that then empower you to love others with the same self-sacrificial love with which God loved you.

If you would like to learn more about God's love or study his Word of love and forgiveness in more detail, please stop by Gloria Dei (2600 Ralston Avenue in Belmont) for worship (10:30am, Sundays), Bible Study (9:15am, Sundays), or just schedule a time to come and talk with me (pastor@gdluth.org, (650) 593-3361). It is my joy and privilege to be able to share what God has done and how he loves us with our whole community. I hope you'll be able to join our family here at Gloria Dei.

God's blessings to you all!

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Gloria Dei is a Lutheran congregation at the top of the hill on Ralston Avenue in Belmont. We also operate a full time grade school for grades Kindergarten through 5th grade. Visit us at our website, www.gdluth.org, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GDLuth, or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GDLuth.