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Saturday, February 11, 2012

The greatest of these is love..

"Is life not full of opportunities for learning love?  Every man and woman every day has a thousand of them.  The world is not a playground; it is a schoolroom.  Life is not a holiday, but an education.  And the one eternal lesson for us all is how better we can love."  Henry Drummond

Opportunities for learning love?  With Valentines Day approaching this seems to be on everyones mind.  Each day I see reminders of the "day of love" approaching.  My daughter says it is the silliest holiday, only putting pressure on couples to further define relationships and break up others.  Yesterday morning,  The Today Show featured Valentines Day Lingerie, hmm..our church happens to be featuring a series on love, beginning this Sunday called LoveLies, hmm.. all this input, do any of these reflect the quote above?

I am certainly not an expert on Love.  I begin this post aware of my many failings in this area, with the awareness that much of what I learn, I learn by mistakes I have made.  When I think of Love, these are the images that flash in my mind:

Steve (my husband) skipping his workout to fix a problem with my car
This same man making the bed every morning
My daughter coming home and running into my arms after a particularly long separation
An Elderly couple holding hands
Giving those in need the things they lack-our action outreach Thursdays
My grown daughters tears when they are leaving after a visit
Emma and Luke snuggling
Katie patiently teaching me all about Pinterest and Spotify
Sadie, tirelessly cleaning
Hannah's laugh
A prayer with a friend

On and on I could go.. But there are other un-earthly images sketched in my mind-

Jesus and His sacrifice on a cross.
Missionaries around the world sacrificing EVERYTHING to take the gospel forth
God's word- the ultimate love letter
Worship

So, as Valentines Day is right around the corner I hope to reach out to those I love in tangible ways that mean something to them.  Love after all can't only be felt, it must be acted upon.   Chocolates are nice, but "showing" your love is even better.  Take the opportunity to learn love this week!

Ephesians 5:1-2
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

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