Pastor Kevin R. Milcarek
February, 2012
Valentine’s Day. Remember those awkward mid-February moments of your childhood? You and your classmates exchanged folded paper cards, simple messages on pastel candy hearts, and secret crushes. Our society has established an entire holiday to celebrate love.
It has been said that you never forget your first love. I John 4:19 reminds us that “we love each other because he first loved us.” We learned how to love others because of the perfect example set by our “first love,” the creator of the universe. He loved the unlovable, and saw value in the broken. And then he did something amazing, unimaginable, and without precedent. Something that we can puzzle over and study, research and ponder, but never, ever truly understand. God sent his son, his only son, to die for us. We find in John 3:16 that, “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.” Tenderly, he picked us up from the ruins of a world corrupted by sin, brushed off the rubble, soothed our broken hearts, and gave us faith and hope. This was no childhood crush, no puppy love. God IS love.
The love of God is illustrated so poignantly in the parable of the shepherd, who left the ninety-nine to go in search of the one lost sheep. It is perfectly described by the father who prepared a great feast and ran to greet his returning wayward son with open arms. So this month, enjoy the candy hearts and the chocolates and the sweet moments with someone special. But realize that all of these things are only a poor representation of what true love really is.
It has been said that you never forget your first love. I John 4:19 reminds us that “we love each other because he first loved us.” We learned how to love others because of the perfect example set by our “first love,” the creator of the universe. He loved the unlovable, and saw value in the broken. And then he did something amazing, unimaginable, and without precedent. Something that we can puzzle over and study, research and ponder, but never, ever truly understand. God sent his son, his only son, to die for us. We find in John 3:16 that, “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.” Tenderly, he picked us up from the ruins of a world corrupted by sin, brushed off the rubble, soothed our broken hearts, and gave us faith and hope. This was no childhood crush, no puppy love. God IS love.
The love of God is illustrated so poignantly in the parable of the shepherd, who left the ninety-nine to go in search of the one lost sheep. It is perfectly described by the father who prepared a great feast and ran to greet his returning wayward son with open arms. So this month, enjoy the candy hearts and the chocolates and the sweet moments with someone special. But realize that all of these things are only a poor representation of what true love really is.