The card was signed, “Love, Millie”. The sentiments were nice, but “love” doesn’t always feel that great.
On Valentines Day, we send people greetings that affirm our love for them. At weddings, we make pledges to love each other. It’s always a joyful and emotional time. Although we’re told we are loved, we don’t always feel loved from the people who say they love us.
We sign the birthday card, “Love from Billy” because we feel a rush of emotions. Our culture has defined love as a feeling. These “love emotions” are wonderful. They bring more pleasure to the person experiencing them than the person who is being told that they are loved.
Jesus defined love when He said to Peter: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” The Apostle Paul later took that further in 1 Cor 13 when he said that love is not a feeling but an action. He said that…..
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. 1 Cor. 13: 4-8 NKJV
When we say “I love you”, we’re really committing to an action: “This is how I am going to treat you – with love. I may fail, but I will continue to keep trying to treat you with love.” The only measure of love is our actions. It is not just our words or our feelings – it’s what we do that is love or is not love.
The best thing about love is that it is the most powerful agent on the planet. When we love, it changes us, the recipient, and even those around us who see love in action.
The view from 10,000 feet today is: Are we loving the people we care about with our actions or just our words?
© Copyright 2014-15, Paul K. Weigel – All rights reserved.