Love is not a Valentine.
But a Valentine can be found in love:
"For God so loVed the world that He gAve His onLy begottEn SoN, That whosoever believeth In Him should Not perish but have Everlasting life." John 3:16
A valentine is an expression of love. What greater expression of love is there than John 3:16? A God who gave His Son to be crucified to attone for our sins, so that we who believe in Him [who cling to, rely upon, adhere to all He is] should not perish but have Everlasting life.
Everlasting Life. Eternal. Forever and ever. Why would anyone want to live eternally? Many folks simply cannot grasp living eternally because the life they are living is anything but worth living. They are unhappy, depressed, discouraged, disillusioned. That's their eyes are on the world.
The saddest part in all this is that some--if not many--Christians have this same attitude. The world has so beaten them, tromped upon them, ridiculed, attacked and abused them, that they have lost their joy. They have fallen prey to Satan's lies and wiles of his demonic influence. They are so consumed by the evil assaults on humanity that they fail to remember it is simply a battle already won. Christ has the victory. We have victory. We have life everlasting. And we have love everlasting---eternal.
LOVE IS NOT FEAR.
We have so much to offer folks. Why do we spend all our time wallowing in the mire of the world's unrelenting but fruitless attempts to thwart the will of our Sovereign God? We are just plain silly. Nothing that occurs in this life is without the express permission of our Lord. With that we know that He is working all things out to His divine glory. We have no reason to fret, to worry, or speculate devastating results unbecoming to our Lord's divine purpose.
When my son was killed, I was so ticked off at God. I figured God must have had a brain cramp that day. Today when I think about how awful things are as a result of my son's absence, I am tempted at times to wallow in that mire. Satan gets into the crevices of my mind and whispers words of doubt, and introduces fear.
It's only realization that God is in control of yesterday and tomorrow that gives me hope in today. And that realization comes from three places: God's Word and promises. God's indwelling Spirit. And God's proven sufficiency in my experiences of life. Fortunately for me, and you, our life is not contingent upon our inadequacies or our failures. Our life is contingent upon God and His sufficiency, His ability, His adequate provision.
Rather than dwell on what love is not, think on what love is: Love is God. And nothing can change or alter that fact. Praise God in the Highest, above all gods, above all we see and all we cannot see. selahV
[copyrighted, SelahV Today, 2008]
BE SURE and visit dailyIMPACT for more of my thoughts on Everlasting LOVE today. Happy Valentine's Day!
