Love: The Fine Print

 Love: The Fine Print

'Tis the season: chocolate hearts, flower bouquets, stuffed animals, and candle-lit dinners. Oh, and one can't forget the diamonds. In our world, each of these are marketed as the indicators of true, honest, and genuine love. 

Image by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay 

While the world will tell us that true love is a sweeping romance full of gifts and weekend get-a-ways, God's Word gives us a much different picture. God's Word shows us the picture of true, enduring love. The "fine print" of love in scripture includes the formula for love that will last long after the flowers have wilted and the candles have melted down. 

I Corinthians 13:4-8a, 

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

As we read each of those qualities, we realize why the world markets chocolate and flowers. Handing over a few dollars is much easier and less costly than offering ourselves to another. Giving up our anger and extending patience can be far more difficult than scraping together money for beautiful jewelry. 

Lord, help us this day and every day to give love to others. Help us to realize that offering love to others includes offering a portion of ourselves. It includes the fine print of giving patience, kindness, humility, grace, and forgiveness to others. Lord, help us to love. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love." ~I Corinthians 13: 13