Love Is…

A cute, bouncy song was popular a few years ago, “Happiness is…” The song went on to say that happiness is different things to different people; that’s what happiness is. The same could be said of love. However, the 13th chapter of I Corinthians says it best.

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, a day set aside to take the time to say, “I love you.” We say it in many different ways. My children gave me a box of yummy chocolates and a cute red owl. That was very nice, to be remembered that way, but they show they love me through their words and actions all year. And I hope I do the same.

To me, love is putting others first. We used to sing a little chorus, many, many years ago in a small church in Oklahoma. “Jesus and Others and You, what a wonderful way to spell JOY.” That is love: Jesus first, Others second, You last. Anything else is selfishness.

It is easy to say, “I love you,” but it is something else to show it, and it isn’t a one-day-of-the-year thing but a yearly celebration of life and joy and giving. Love is shown in the words we speak and how we say them. Love doesn’t shout, it speaks firmly and gently. Love is in actions: not “me first”, but “I prefer that you go first”. My parents weren’t ones to tell me they loved me in so many words, very often, but they showed me they loved me every day that they lived. They were a picture of selflessness, putting their children’s needs before any of their own.

Love is joyful. It is a gift. I believe that love starts and ends with God. To love and be loved is to be a part of that wonderful, joyful gift that comes straight from the Creator. Love can take a humble little house and turn it into a beautiful, safe haven. Love can take a heart and fill it to bursting with the delight of caring for someone else more than I care for myself.

Each Christmas Eve, our church holds a candlelight service. Lights are turned out and the sanctuary is dark. Then, one candle is lit and from that, another, and another. Soon, the whole room glows with the soft light of many candles. That is a picture of love. First, God’s love to us, then our love to each other, and soon, the darkness gives way to light. We should never underestimate the power of love. It is truly the greatest force in the world.