Lasting Love

​          This is the month when we focus on love.  Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it (take the hint guys) and we all take particular care to romance that special person in our lives.  There will be flowers, or candy, or dinner, or some special gift just for the one we love.  Guys, remember now, household appliances such as toasters and vacuum cleaners are not what your lady dreams to receive from you on Valentine’s Day!  She desires something romantic and personal. 
          But Valentine gifts can be expensive.  Roses are astronomical.  We heard that the price for roses are set months in advance for this time of year so that it will not necessarily save you any money to purchase them in advance.  Could it be that the price of some perfumes, powders, and lotions was so high that it was what led the Fed to lower the interest rate? 
          But soon the candy will be gone, the cards will be put away, the flowers will wilt, and the expensive gifts will loose their freshness and new luster.  The romance of Valentine’s Day will fade away.  We tend to forget to romance our mate or special someone and the flame of love soon begins to flicker.
          But there is a way to keep the flame burning—it doesn’t require you to be charming, intelligent, or witty, it isn’t fattening, doesn’t require good looks, and will not bust your budget.  And, best of all, it works all year long.  What is it?  It’s all that free stuff that’s the best.  It’s the simple things.
          It is long hugs (best applied daily), saying, “I love you” for no special reason, writing a short love note and hiding it somewhere or using a dry erase marker to write it on the mirror.  It is remembering to kiss “Goodbye” and “Hello.”  It is opening the car door, or warming their car up, or cooking a simple meal.  It is just sitting and talking about their day and your day.  It is cooking his favorite desert or vacuuming the floor for her.  It is the day-to-day simple acts of love that keep the flame burning.
          No amount of money could replace these “gifts of love” if they are missing.  No one-time gift can begin to compare with these day-to-day special acts of love.  This is how love lasts from day to day.  This is how we keep the flame of love burning for a lifetime.  This is how we enjoy one another as God intended.
1 Corinthians 13
4 Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not conceited, 
5 does not act improperly, is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 
6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 
7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 
8 Love never ends. … 
          This reminds us of God’s love for us.  He always loves us.  His love never ends. He has promised never to leave us or forsake those who belong to Him.  Every day God’s love is just as strong for us as it was the day we came to Christ.  Isn’t God wonderful?
          So let’s love one another and praise the Lord!
 
Pastor Pat