Devotionals

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In that old Beatles song, the word “love” occurs 38 times, but is never defined. And, considering the marriage statistics of the boys in the band, maybe love wasn’t all they needed!
The Supremes offered insight into the fleeting nature of love with “In and Out of Love”:
Keep falling in and out of love
In search of what I’m dreaming of
I long to find a love I’m sure about
The certain kind of love that moves all doubts
And on it goes, in search of the perfect love.
One of the most profound songs about love was “Do You Love Me”:
You broke my heart cause I couldn’t dance
You didn’t even want me around
But now I’m back
To show you I can really shake ’em down.
The poor soul asks if his girl loves him because he can “mash potato,” “do the twist’” ad nauseam. Pity the sad sack whose girl leaves him because he can’t dance!
February is Valentine’s Day month, the scent of romance is in the air, and the inscrutability of love is on our minds. Children create greeting cards in the shapes of hands and hearts, some find their Prince or Princess Charming, and Hallmark stores gear up for the inevitable rush of husbands buying cards on February 13th. Love is on our lips, but what is in our hearts? What does “love” mean, anyway? Is it a feeling? Is it an action? Is it only for puppies?
The Bible has the answer. It tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). John goes on to show the measure of God’s love: He sent His son to die for His enemies, and we ought to be willing to do the same. He also states that “There is no fear in love” (1 John 4:18). So far, we see that love goes way beyond dreaming and dancing.
The most definitive description of love is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 8a:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
Unlike fleeting feelings or variable valleys or sappy songs, true love is permanent. It is not affected by the subject’s fading glories or the couple’s roller coaster circumstances. “Love is blind” is not just a cliché; it is a practical truth. Romantic feelings and physical lusts often blind us to the warning signs of an impending bad relationship. But once the commitment is made, true love must take over. The first “I love you” of a beau seems the sweetest sound to pass from human lips. But that final “I love you, but . . . ” at the end of a relationship rings horribly hollow. This should not be.
God’s “I love you” rang true in eternity past, when He ordained His son to die for us, and will ring true as long as God is alive! Helen Hayes said it well: “(Love) is perhaps the only glimpse we are permitted of eternity.”
If you have never received God’s love gift of His son, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior, don’t think it’s too late just because you’re “Over 50.” His desire for you never diminishes, and His offer always stands. And, as Mary Roberts Rinehart said, “Love is like the measles; the older you get it, the worse the attack.”

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