February 01, 2015
by Pastor Chuck SwindollScriptures: 1 Corinthians 13
It is February. Overcast, chilly, bleak-and-barren February. If you're not into skiing the slopes, skating on ice, or singin' in the rain, there's not a lot outside to excite you. Sure was gracious of God to make it last only twenty-eight days . . . well, sometimes twenty-nine.
It is February. Overcast, chilly, bleak-and-barren February. If you're not into skiing the slopes, skating on ice, or singin' in the rain, there's not a lot outside to excite you. Sure was gracious of God to make it last only twenty-eight days . . . well, sometimes twenty-nine. No wonder bears hibernate at this time of year—there's not even Monday Night Football!
But wait. There is something extra special about February. Valentine's Day. Hearts 'n flowers. Sweetheart banquets. A fresh and needed reminder that there is still a heart-shaped vacuum in the human breast that only the three most wonderful words in the English language can fill.
To love and to be loved is the bedrock of our existence. But love must also flex and adapt. Rigid love is not true love. It is veiled manipulation, a conditional time bomb that explodes when frustrated. Genuine love willingly waits! It isn't pushy or demanding. While it has its limits, its boundaries are far-reaching. It neither clutches nor clings. Real love is not short-sighted, selfish, or insensitive. It detects needs and does what is best for the other person without being told.
As we read in that greatest treatise ever written on the subject: "Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears . . . believes . . . hopes . . . endures all things" (1 Cor. 13:4–7).
"I LOVE YOU." Simple, single-syllable words, yet they cannot be improved upon. Nothing even comes close. And because we don't have any guarantee we'll have each other forever, it's a good idea to say them as often as possible.
Tell each one of your kids you love 'em. Don't just say, "Love ya." Say, "I love you." There's a difference. If you don't have any kids, tell your mate. If you're single, call up a close friend and say those three powerful words with feeling.