One year, the word trust was on my mind a lot - trust in the Lord. Another year, hope was on my mind - hope in the Lord. Joy was also on my mind one year - joy in the Lord.
In more recent years, I have not had any word for the year. Instead, I have clung tightly to a phrase from Psalm 23 - the Lord is my Shepherd.
My heavenly Father is my Shepherd. He is with me, leading me, guiding me, loving me, protecting me, providing for me.
This year, love has been on my mind a lot.
When I think of the word love, different things come to mind. There are different kinds of love.
One kind of love is romantic love - something created by God that is so precious and beautiful when it is pure.
The country of Israel has a lesser known holiday called “Tu B’ Av” or the “15th of Av”. This holiday was celebrated in Israel last month (August) during the month of Av. It is celebrated similar to our Valentine’s Day. In ancient times, single young women from each of the tribes of Israel would go into vineyards and dance in a circle with other single young women. Clothed in all white dresses, they would hope to catch the eye and interest of single men from the different tribes of Israel.
Love, marriage, and family is all designed by God. Those who are against those things are, in many ways, against God’s design.
I believe marriage and family is one of Satan’s main targets. Nations are built from families.
Marriage, home, and family starts with two people, a man and a woman, who are “in love” and commit themselves to each other before God.
Romantic love. A beautiful thing designed by God.
While that kind of love is definitely worth mentioning, that is not what my post is about.
The kind of love that has been on my mind this year could be called true love.
Love has been on my mind so much this year, I wrote a post earlier this year on this blog titled:
“What is Love?”
God defines exactly what love is in His Word.
“Charity suffereth long and is kind...”
1 Corinthians 13:4
This chapter is familiar to many people, and it clearly defines what love is and what love is not.
In essence, true love cares about God and others and is selfless. That kind of love is committed to God and others even when there is a sacrifice or a cost involved.
In others words, when you truly love someone, you value them in good times and in bad times. When you love someone, they are important to you.
Love is central throughout the entire Bible.
The highest and greatest commandment God gave to His people, Israel, was for them to love Him.
“Hear O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Love. Love for God and love for others.
The apostle John understood the heart of God very well. His heart echoed 1 Corinthians 13 when it says:
“…and have not charity,
it profiteth me nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:3
Without a love for God and others, things we do for them have no real profit.
When I was a young child, with my parents help, I memorized some very simple Bible verses such as:
“God is love.”
1 John 4:8
Amazingly, those simple verses I memorized around the age of 4 are still hidden inside my heart and mind to this very day.
And those very simple words, words from God, make me think deeply today.
The entire verse says:
“He that loveth not knoweth not God;
for God is love.”
1 John 4:8
So simple, yet so profound. Those who do not love others do not truly know God. Wow.
I have thought about these words so much this year.
In describing the last days, the Lord Jesus told His disciples:
“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
Matthew 24:12
Because of sin, what would wax cold in people?
Love.
That is sad and a very sobering thought.
God’s love is constant, enduring, and eternal. God’s love is not earned. God’s love is freely given.
This reminds me of my Dad when I was a girl. I was loved, cherished, and treasured by my Dad.
I did not earn my Dad’s love. I did not have to do anything to receive my Dad’s hugs. I was loved by my Dad simply because I was his daughter.
 |
| My Dad holding me when I was around 3 years old. |
Whether my Dad realized it or not, my Dad was giving me a picture of God’s love at a very young age, something I am so thankful for.
Was my Dad perfect? No, he wasn’t. But I’m thankful for my Dad’s love as a young child.
God’s love for us is like that.
Love heals. Love heals broken hearts, broken minds, and broken bodies.
Love is the very nature and character of God. Those who are God’s children love others as God loves us.
Love is at the heart and center of God’s Word and the Gospel. It is love that draws people to God.
The Bible writer summed it well when he wrote:
“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
The greatest of these is love.
