LOOKING TO THE CROSS TO FIND TRUE LOVE

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today is Valentine’s Day, the one day out of the year (minus wedding anniversaries) where we celebrate our love for others. There will be many expressions of love exchanged this day like flowers, candies, and jewelry. Many couples will flock to nice restaurants for romantic meals together sometimes accented by candlelight.

Yes, love is in the air and yet I wonder if we’re celebrating true love. This thought was prompted by a post someone sent last night.

The person posting had just attended an Ash Wednesday service, a solemn service meant to acknowledge that it was our sins that led Jesus to be crucified and cause us to see that short of God’s grace, all are worthy of death and dust and the grave. An ashen cross is typically applied to the forehead during this service to remind one that it was the cross that rescued him or her from the dust of death as new life is breathed into us through the resurrection of Jesus and the grace and forgiveness of the Father.

After Ash Wednesday, the days leading up to Easter, a time called Lent, are intended to be a time of reflection, a time when we consider our wrongs and seek to repent, turning anew toward righteousness and seeking to improve in our Christian walk. At times, this reflection may involve fasting.  

Given all this, the person writing was unsure how to respond to Valentine’s Day and all the revelry when they had just entered into Lent and the somber introduction that is Ash Wednesday. Without the clarity of God’s word, this is a legitimate emotional quandary.

So how do we resolve this? How do we look at Valentine’s Day in light of reflection on Jesus and His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection?

The answer comes when we look to the cross.

Examine the two scripture passages today. We’re all very familiar with John 3:16 but look at 1 John 3:16 and be amazed at the awesome nature of God’s perfect word as it tells us about perfect love:

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16

In sum, when we look to the cross, we will see love in its purest and truest form. We find an agape love, the kind of self sacrificing love that led Jesus to say, “I am willing to die for you. I am willing to allow my life to be taken so you might live.” It’s the kind of unselfish love that led God to say, “I am willing to give up my only child so everyone else can live. That’s how much I love you.”

The scriptures are clear. We only know how to love because Jesus laid down His life for us. And we only know love because God expressed it to us through sacrificing His Son Jesus so we might live, not just in the here and now but forever.

Friends, if you know a love outside of this, a love that is void of God the Father and Jesus His Son, then beware of it because it is a false love, a love the world has fabricated and seduced the Lord’s people with. It’s the kind of love that leads someone to think love is lust and sex. It’s the kind of love that proved to be the downfall of the early Israelites and continues to be the downfall of people today. We have yet to learn from the mistakes of the past.

Today on this Valentine’s Day and on every day from this point forward, my prayer is that you will join me in staying focused on the only true love that exists, the love of God as expressed through the living sin-sacrifice of His Son Jesus, the perfect unblemished Lamb who shed His blood as a final atonement for our sins. It was His death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb that gave us the chance for salvation.   

The scriptures tell us that we only know love because Jesus laid His life down for us, freely given up by His Father, our Father in heaven. Look to the cross today with all your heart and push aside all the flowers and candy and jewelry so you can see what love truly is.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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