Soul Stirrings: Love is a four letter word...

This time of year everyone is on high alert and crazy acting and it's all because of that four letter word.

Love.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, all women, who have a man in their life, are living in a fantasy world of flowers and love notes and chocolates and shiny things and unicorns. (Yes ladies, I said unicorns. They are just as real as everything else you've dreamed up in your fantasy world.)

While all of their men are cringing because they know they can't possibly compete with whatever goes down in a woman's fantasy world. So the question is how much time, money and effort do they spend on a stupid holiday just to say they did something while fully believing whatever they do won't be enough.

Meanwhile, half of the single ladies (and some single men!) will spend their day giving the stink eye to every flower delivery guy or person who looks happy about it being Valentine's Day, while the other half will fall asleep on the night of February 13th praying they miraculously wake up on the 15th.

You know, like an opposite of Groundhog Day. Where the day doesn't repeat, it just never happens.

Love.

That crazy four letter word.

You know what other word has four letters?

DEAD.

Now before you all go out in a big "love- hater" mob and start burning giant teddy bears, read on my friends. Read on.

So what does Webster's dictionary tell us love is?

**Cue music**

"I wanna know what love issssss.... and I want Webster to shooow meeeee!!"

I digress.

Love: "Unselfish, loyal, benevolent concern for the good of another."

Did you catch that? For the good of another. Do you realize that love has to have an object? It's dependent on something/someone else to exist. I can't have a strong love for coffee if coffee doesn't exist. And certainly I can't say I love you if there is no you.

If you're anything like me, you can relate when I say, I just want love to be all about ME! But it's not. It can't be.

Do you know what the Bible has to say about love?

"Greater love has no one than this. That someone lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

Laying down your life?! What? That sounds an awful lot like being.... DEAD.

Love, great love, is a willingness to sacrifice for the good of another. To die to self. Love is others focused. It just is. It's sacrificial. It's NOT self seeking. It's choosing to think of others and what THEIR preference might be.

It's taking your eyes off of what YOU want or think and rather, looking to the needs and wants of others.

Love, great love, can feel scary.

Many thoughts and questions run through our minds when we contemplate love.

If I die to myself than won't I lose my identity? If I don't look out for myself, I'll never get what I want! What if I get walked all over? When is it my turn? Why won't someone sacrifice for me?
HOW COULD I EVER TRULY LOVE???

Our questions are valid. While they all center around "I" and "me", the answer to our questions can only be found outside of ourselves.

Dear one, you are loved by a God who knows you intimately, pursues you constantly and loves you unconditionally. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is for you and always will be. He sacrificed His life to be with you. Did you hear me? He DIED for YOU!

YOU. ARE. LOVED!

Fully, finally, and for all of eternity.

You are the object of His love.

In answer to your fretful heart's question, "How could I ever truly love?":

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

You are free to love, my friend!

So this week, when you're tempted to set unrealistic expectations and escape into your fantasy world where there are extravagant displays of love showered upon you this Valentine's Day. Stop. Love.

When you're tempted to be annoyed with a stupid commercialized holiday and refuse to acknowledge it just to "stick it to the man". Or tempted to buy something meaningless just to check it off your list to look like you care. Stop. Love.

When you're tempted to sink deeper and deeper into cynicism, bitterness, covetousness and isolation with each passing Facebook post, bouquet of flowers, and Zale's jewelry commercial. Stop. Love.

Yes, love has four letters in it, but it doesn't have to be a four letter word.

You are loved. Now go love others.

~Who is in your sphere of influence that needs to be loved today?
~What can you do today, in this moment, to truly love them?
~Are you willing to die to yourself to truly live in relationship and love? If not, why?

Spend some time today with the Lord processing your response. Ask Him to make His love for you tangible in a new way today.