A Love Worthy of Valentine's Day

That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19 

Perhaps because I am a twin and my earliest memories are being loved as part of a unit, since my childhood days I have struggled to believe the love of God was personal to me. I believed "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son" (John 3:16) because a love that embraced all of humanity was at least a bit conceivable. But a personal love for me? It seemed impossible to even grasp mentally, much less truly believe.

Thankfully God has done an amazing work in my life and one of the results is Paul's prayer for the believer's of his time has begun to be answered in me. I have begun to comprehend the width, depth, length and height of God's love—if only in a small way. 

Image stock.xchange "nicoleross" 

God has used is 1 Corinthians 13:4-8b, the most famous love passage in the Bible, to teach me about Himself. As well as describing the characteristics of a Holy Spirit empowered love of one person for another, since "God is love" (1 John 4:8), this passage helps me to understand more of who He is!   

" Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."

 Biblically I can conclude the following amazing points.

1.) In whatever way, by God’s grace, I have displayed a long-suffering love to another, God’s love for me is that in perfection.

2.) In whatever way, by God’s grace, I have been kind to another, God’s love for me is that in perfection.

3.) In whatever way, by God’s grace, I have displayed a non-envying love to another, God’s love for me is that in perfection.

4.) In whatever way, by God’s grace, I have displayed a humble love to another, God’s love for me is that in perfection.

5.) In whatever way, by God’s grace, I have displayed an unselfish love that is always appropriate, God’s love for me is that in perfection.

6.) In whatever way, by God’s grace, I have displayed a love that is not “provokable,” God’s love for me is that in perfection.

7.) In whatever way, by God’s grace, I have displayed a love that thinks the best of another, God’s love for me is that in perfection.

8.) In whatever way, by God’s grace, I have not rejoiced in unrighteousness but instead in the truth, God’s love for me is that in perfection.

9.) In whatever way, by God’s grace, I have born up under a difficult situation with love for another, God’s love for me is that in perfection.

10.) In whatever way, by God’s grace, I have displayed an unfailing love for another, God’s love for me is that in perfection.

Although this Valentine's Day my husband and I will celebrate another year of  loving each other, that love should not be our primary focus. After all, it is only because of the amazing love of God that any properly executed human love is even possible. It is only because of the power of the Holy Spirit living in us that Mark and I can ever "get it right." 

And how thankful I am that God, who is love, absolutely never, ever gets it wrong!

Recently unearthed picture of Mark and me taken soon after our marriage in 1980.

See On Throwing a Holiday Pity Party.
See Affair-Proofing My Marriage.