Jesus shows us How to Love

Soon, we will celebrate Valentine’s Day, a moment in our year in which we remember and cherish those persons to whom we have made a lifetime commitment.

As we scan the Bible, we discover a God who is love, demonstrates love, and gives love freely to each and every one of us. John 3:16 states “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”.   Can we even begin to imagine the great love of God in performing such a marvelous deed? I know that I cannot.

After all, this is the same God who spoke the earth, the land and all the animals, birds, trees, and flying creatures that live on it (even the mosquito was fashioned by God!), the waters and the magnificent creatures that live there. And, then, God created man and woman. What joy He must have had when he brought all his creation, one by one, to the man to be named by him. And what sorrow He must have experienced when Adam and Eve sinned and He had to cast them out of the Garden. But, even then, God had a plan to redeem us.

I don’t consider it a great coincidence that Jesus was there at the Wedding at Cana, or that He performed His first miracle there. The Son of a God who is love was present at the celebration of beginning of married life, just as He is in every day following that wondrous day, if we just believe it to be so.

He is there in our times of joy, just as He must have rejoiced with the multitudes of angels on Christmas Day. He is there at our Baptism, just as He was at the Presentation in the Temple, and when He exclaimed as Jesus arose from the Jordan “This is my beloved son, with which I am well pleased.” (Mt.3:17). He is with us during our work, just as He was there during Jesus’ ministry, and He cries at our sorrows. How much it must have hurt Him to see His Son crushed for us? And how much more joyous on Easter to see evil defeated once and for all!

And how do we celebrate such awesome love? For me, 1 John 4:11-12, 16b-21 says it all:

“Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he has first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whomever does not love his brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, who they have not seen. And He has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must love their brother and sister.”

Let us, as we approach Valentine’s Day, remember the love shown to us by an all powerful God, and resolve to love others as we love ourselves.;