No Greater Love
Today is Valentine’s Day, a day where many people worship earthly romantic relationships. And even as Christians, it is so easy to fall into this trap–to turn to the opposite sex, or your friends and family, as your source of love and fulfillment. But when we look at 1 John 4, we can see that this desire for love and affection can only be fully satisfied by true love, the love we have from our heavenly Father as demonstrated through His Son, Jesus Christ.
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” – 1 John 4:10 (NIV)
Now this is what love is. Here is a straight definition for us: it is God sending Jesus to earth as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus Christ is God’s proclamation of His love for us. As we sing in the hymn How Deep the Father’s Love for Us, God’s love is beyond all measure. Why? Because He gave His only Son to make a wretch (i.e. us) His treasure!
In light of this, it seems silly to celebrate our flawed, temporary, human love. So, instead of celebrating the artificial romantic love we see in movies or sing about in popular music, let us celebrate the love we have from our Father in heaven–a love that is far deeper and greater than we could ever hope or imagine.
