3 Truths About Love

Photo Source

Valentine's Day is about celebrating love.

You and I are blessed if we have people to love and people who love us.

Yet we know that the greatest love of all is the love that our Heavenly Father has for us.  It's a perfect love and it's extended freely to all.

Today I'm meditating on these three truths about love.

1.  God's love is everlasting.  Jeremiah 31:3, "The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."  While the quality of my human love is certainly not on par with God's love, I've made it a point lately to tell my daughters that they can never do anything that will cause me not to love them.  They are my children and always will be.  So it is with me as God's child.

2.  Love is not dependent on another person's response.  Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  Despite the fact that mankind had sinned against God, He still sent Jesus to die for us.  He didn't wait for some action on our part; He initiated the act of love.  In the same way, I can love another regardless of whether or not they respond immediately in kind.

3.  Love is demonstrated by actions.  I John 4:9, "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."  God did so much more than just saying He loved us; He proved it by sacrificing His Son.  I can say, "I love you" all day long, but if I never show it by the way I act, it's very hard for someone to believe it.   The "little things" I do every day can show my family I love them - preparing meals, doing laundry, giving hugs.  Sometimes I need to recognize those same "little things" that are being done for me - my husband doing repairs around the house, my daughter putting things away without being asked.  It's okay to show love in "big" ways, too!

On this Valentine's Day, I'm thankful for God's love and for the promise of spending an eternity experiencing it.