‘Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.’ (1 John 3:18).
The writer Gary Chapman describes how love can be expressed in 5 different ‘languages’: words of encouragement, quality time, gifts, acts of service and touch. Do you have a preferred language of love? As we think about St Valentine during this month, let’s consider how God’s love language is expressed in the word agape. This is exclusively found in the New Testament and is uniquely defined by Jesus: ‘This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.’ (1 John 3:16). Jesus’ giving of His life on the cross provides the model for how we can demonstrate God’s love in our relationships with others.
It is self-giving: are we ready to put the other person first, as Jesus did when He died for us in our place. Are we generous with our time, words, money and service, whatever the cost?
It takes the initiative: are we ready to show love to those who don’t deserve it or who we find hard to love? Do we have eyes of compassion to see their needs and a heart to love and serve them?
It is intentional: are we ready to get close to those in need around us, irrespective of the time we have or how we feel?
The story is told of Jesus asking a little child, ‘how much do you love me?’ The child replied ‘lots and lots and lots!’ Then they asked Jesus how much He loved them. Jesus stretched out His arms wide and said ‘I love you this much’, as they nailed Him to a cross.