Valentine's Day - Thoughts of Love

Valentine's Day = Thoughts of Love

Yes, I love my wife. We are approaching our 53rd anniversary this coming June. I can honestly say - without reservation - that being on the receiving end of this woman's love is the best thing that has ever happened to me in this life. I am supremely blessed, indeed!

But what really is love, anyway? Love is revealed by loving actions. Those actions are not love itself, however, only the tangible, visible fruit of love. Love is an emotion, but it is more than that. Love is a principle, a standard for behavior. Love is the law of life.

In fact, love cannot exist without law. Love is all about relationships, and every law in existence is also about relationships.

Love, or the lack of it, determines the health of every relationship. For living beings with total freedom of moral choice, choosing to act in loving ways creates hope, trust, respect, faith, and joy. Choosing to act in self-serving, unloving ways creates pain, disappointment, sadness, and ultimately death. Good laws serve to govern relationships for health and happiness. Bad laws seek to control others for the benefit of an exclusive few or a privileged class.

The Bible says that "God is love" (1 John 4:8).

The idea of "God" is often derided by unbelievers as a figment of imagination in the minds of weak, illogical, and uneducated people. The Bible is only a collection of myths and restrictive rules put together by superstitious people who invented "God" to allay their own fears and control the masses. God's laws are without reason or real purpose . . . or so some would have us believe.

But is that really true? Let's examine just one of God's ten rules (laws) that seems appropriate on Valentine's Day. Exodus 20:14 says, "You shall not commit adultery" (The seventh commandment). A couple in a faithful, monogamous marriage knows a depth of love unattainable to others. Breaking trust by indulging in affairs outside of marriage erodes respect, destroys love, and creates heartache. Everyone touched by the action eventually suffers - spouse, lover, children, extended family, and friends. And in turn, the ripple effect spreads to wider and wider circles negatively affecting many more than just the individual(s) guilty of breaking the commandment.

Conversely, the influence of faithfulness also spreads to regions far beyond the walls of a home where love reigns. Thus we can see that true love is found in willing, joyful obedience to God's precept, and the fruit is health, happiness, hope, and honor. Seriously, what's not to love about that?!?