A Note on Gospel Love

My daughter is thoroughly confused by Valentine’s Day. While she certainly isn’t complaining about the surprise gifts from her grandparents, the influx of heart-themed crafts we’ve made, or the sudden appearance of heart-shaped cookies in our home, she’s not really sure why any of it’s happening.

I’ve tried to explain that it is a special day where we tell the people we love how much we love them, but this explanation has proved insufficient for her curious mind. If anyone has the answer to a three-year-old’s “But, why?” question, please let me know.

The idea of love has been on my mind a lot recently. Not necessarily because pink sparkly hearts are everywhere at the moment but because it’s been challenging to express as of late.

I have been blessed with some incredible, monumental moments in my life where the love in my heart has felt so tangible, I thought it might actually burst out. But the feelings of those moments fade over time.

They are dulled by conflict and tantrums. They lose their luster in seasons of sleep-deprivation. They are almost forgotten after long days of constant meltdowns, ruined plans, and miscommunications. We get frustrated, distracted, and selfish and our love isn’t always displayed perfectly. We are sinners who love other sinners and that will forever complicate things.

So while I’m all for celebrating love this time of year and every other day of the year, I find myself feeling guilty from all the ways my love has fallen short. All the times I’ve snapped back during a tantrum. All the times I’ve shut down because I took something the wrong way. All the times I’ve been so exhausted and overwhelmed that I’ve given in to frustration when my children act like children.

But while my own love is flawed, there is one love we can celebrate without any hesitation. It is a perfect love that meets us at our worst and redeems us from our sins. It’s a love that gave itself up for its enemies. It’s a love that is patient, humble, pure, and eternal. It’s the perfect love of God.

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:9-11

God didn’t send his Son to a perfect people. He sent his Son to a wayward world. Jesus Christ came to rescue his enemies and love those who hated him (Romans 5:10). It was while we allowed our hearts to be ruled by sinful desires, while we served ourselves, while we defied his authority, that God sent our Savior into the world (Romans 5:8).

But despite being rejected, despite being met with hate, despite the constant, rebellious nature of his children, God’s love stands true, steadfast, and perfect. It was put on full display on the cross, giving itself up in death as the only means of rescue for the ones who nailed him there in the first place (Philippians 2:5-11).

And there isn’t a love here on earth that can match it. While love here on earth can cease, the love of God is eternal (Psalm 136:26). While love here on earth can end with death or falter in trials, the love of God cannot be shaken (Romans 8:37-39). While love here on earth can be dependent on 1,000 conditions, the love of God relies on one condition being met - the work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Romans 5:1).

When you and I find it challenging to love perfectly in this fallen world, we can look to the love of Christ we’ve received. When our children are rebellious, we can remember how God loved us in our own rebellion. When we have conflict in our marriage or disappointment in our friendships, we can remember how the love of Christ redeemed our own sins and is strong enough to redeem those around us.

When the feelings of love start to fade, we can joyfully put in the work to love patiently, kindly, and humbly. When relationships are weary from the burdens we all carry, we can find true rest in our Savior and rejoice that his love for us endures through it all.

Let us pause and worship our great God today. Let us give thanks for the love that we don’t deserve but eagerly receive. Let us strive to reflect this love to everyone around us. His love is a love worth celebrating today and forevermore.