Why I (still) LOVE Valentine’s Day

Last year I wrote this about why I love Valentine’s Day, and I think, when you’re going through heart break on this holiday everyone sort of expects you to be cynical and down trodden. I think, that’s sad. Why would we wish for someone to feel bitter? Why wouldn’t we instead hope that they could still find happiness and peace and love?

The truth is, I would love nothing more than to be cuddling up on the couch with the one I gave my heart to. I would be lying if I said differently. Even more true, is that I still believe in love. I still believe that there are good people out there, with honest hearts, who would like nothing more than to share their love with someone else. I still believe that this day isn’t just about romantic love, that it’s also about loving your neighbor, loving your friends, loving your family, and sharing the gift of love with strangers. I also believe this day would be that much more wonderful if we loved the way God intended. My Facebook status this morning was this:

Imagine if we all loved like this…
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or 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. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
-God (by way of 1 Corinthians 13)

I always think, when people read this at weddings, how low the divorce rate would be if we actually made this our daily goal, as married couples. If people read these words and actually believed them. Unfortunately, none of us are perfect, though we are created in His image, we don’t always portray it. Gossip is not love. Jealousy is not love. Rejection is not love. Holding grudges is not love. Bitterness and Judgment are not love. Dishonesty is not love. And yet… pride, jealousy, judgment… these are the ugly things we gift our most cherished loved ones with. Our friends, our family, our coworkers. We are not perfect, but I think we can do much better than this, and we are all guilty. No wonder so many cynics live among us, down trodden and lonely, while the media shows us an idealistic picture of love, the people surrounding these sad souls show them nothing but negative, bitter, ugly evil.

I loved this day as a child, because it was one day when everyone was accepting and gracious and kind. I still love this day. So what do you do when you’re sad and the person or people you love are no longer in your life? What do you do when they’ve shown you unperfect love? You find that deep seeded grief, and you begin to forgive them. Just for you. You can’t control how other people treat you, but you can control how you treat others, and walking around with a chip on your shoulder is only going to hurt you. So you forgive them, for whatever wrong was done. Then you stand up, and you share the love that was meant for them with someone else. You give a stranger a compliment, you buy dinner for a coworker, you send a friend a care package. You do these things and love will come back to you. Karma is based on it. The Golden Rule abides by it. And most importantly, to me, God promises it.

²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Love is coming for me. What’s coming for you?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Do you believe in God’s design for love?
Do you believe that what you put into the world comes back to you?