The Greatest Love

The Greatest Love

This week so many people celebrated Valentine’s Day. One of the days out the year that retailers have a boost in sales from Valentine’s Day cards, candy, flowers, jewelry, etc. This is the one day that so many people choose to confess their love to one another by getting engaged and even exchanging their marriage vows Until Death Do Us Part. Yes, we serve a covenant keeping God and those vows are real. But I’ll save that for another blog post. What about the other 364 days in the year? What are we showing each other on those days?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, 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 – 1 Cor. 13:4-8

I wanted to share this verse with you as a reminder of God’s love for us and how we should love each other. It doesn’t matter what someone else does or doesn’t do today, or did or didn’t do on Valentine’s Day. We have to remember the love we have inside of us through the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5: 22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.) because God loved us first and poured out His Spirit on all people (Acts 2:17).

In the Holy Bible, Jesus says in John 15:17 This is my command: Love each other. If you want to know God’s Will, this is it! He wants us to love each other. Love does so much for us — it covers a multitude of sins, breaks the yoke, sets the oppressed free, and SAVES (thank you Jesus!), to name a few.

I want to encourage you TODAY to love someone through their pain, forgive yourself from your past mistakes (Please let it go. God already has: Hebrews 8:12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.), welcome restoration from someone who has hurt you, remember the marriage vows you took with your spouse for better, for worse and walk it out with God’s help, or extend love and kindness to someone who cuts you off in the grocery store (you never know the love that you extend may be just what God uses to prick that person’s heart to change their attitude). 

So many times we look for love and attention in the wrong places; forgetting that the greatest love is in Christ. God knew us before we were born and loved us even when we were lost in sin. Choose to keep His command and love someone else today. What’s so awesome about God’s love is that we do not have to do it alone. If I may be honest, there have been times I didn’t feel I could show someone love after they hurt me. The wounds were too deep. I could not do it alone. I went to God in prayer, with those same feelings still there (it’s amazing that we do not have to wait until everything is perfect before we speak to God), and He helped me do it. He even healed my broken heart. He is the true vine and we are the branches, apart from Him we can do nothing, but with Him we can do it all. 

He will help us to walk in love and keep His commands. I encourage you to meditate on 1 Cor. 13:4-8 and allow God to speak to your hearts. It does something inside of me when I read this verse, reminding me of the true power of Love. I pray it speaks to you as well.

Have a blessed weekend!

As always, love you in Christ,

Ayesha L Shoulders