![[Photo of a Scripture verse]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/1_John_4_7.jpg)
| “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” |
| —1 John 4:7 |
This week begins a week dedicated to “love” and “sweethearts.” No matter how we may have treated our loved ones during the past twelve months, suddenly we’re encouraged by our materialistic society to go all out in purchasing expressions of love. Valentine’s Day will find many of us spending money on flowers, candy, jewelry, cards, and other gifts, in an attempt to let someone know how much that one is loved.
Just so that you know, I’m not against Valentine’s Day at all. In fact, if anything, I am a hopeless romantic. I’m probably the oddest man on earth because, generally speaking, I loathe sports and greatly enjoy the movies on the Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel. So, even though I believe I have a pretty good understanding of what the true motivating factor is for Valentine’s Day, I am not opposed to expressing love to someone I care deeply about.
In the spiritual realm, God-breathed love is not shown by the purchase of gifts on a specific day. Rather, an expression of God-given love for our brothers and sisters in Christ comes from a movement within the very core of our beings that is prompted by the Holy Spirit.
The Apostle John urged those receiving his first letter to latch onto such a love and freely express it to one’s fellow believers. Notice what John wrote, as recorded in 1 John 4:7:
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
In this verse, as rendered in the New Testament Greek language, the Apostle uses various forms of the word “agape”—God-breathed love. This is a love that a human cannot create for himself or herself. It is a love that only comes from God through the Holy Spirit. God literally breathes this love into the heart of His chosen humans.
This love is a love that surpasses any other form of love. It is a love that bears the test of time. It is a love that accepts others as they are. It is a love that reaches out to help those in need. It is a love that grows deeper with the passing of days. It is a love that never fails.
As we begin this new day and this new week where minds are turned toward expressions of love, let’s not lose sight of the fact that we who follow Christ have a particular joy that comes from allowing God-breathed love to flow into us, and then, flow out of us into the lives of those who cross the pathway of our lives.
In my mind, this is a much better love than any Valentine’s Day expression could ever be.
