Unconditional Love

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut,

Doesn’t have a swelled head,

Doesn’t force itself on others,

Isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle,

Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies.

~1^st Corinthians 13:4-8a [The Message]

Valentine’s Day is another of the world’s über-commercial holidays – lining the coffers of flower sellers and chocolatiers everywhere. That’s pretty cynical, you say?  Yes, it probably is.  I adore flowers, and have been known to eat my way through a great deal of chocolate.  However, Valentine’s Day should not be about either beautiful blooms or candy in red-shaped boxes, although both are very nice. On this sunny February morning, you and I have another 24 hours of precious life which allows us to pour out our love and devotion on those we love.

How many of us have received the requisite candy and/or flowers in the morning, only to have their meaning obliterated by the evening’s thoughtless acts and harsh words.  I would far rather have a long hug, kind words softly spoken, and daily small acts of affection and respect than any pink & red holiday.

Paul’s famous description of love in 1^st Corinthians 13 is a thought-provoking study in what love is – and what it isn’t.  It is also a very tall order for human relationships.  Various phrases always pull me up short, usually ending in the thought, “How in the world is that possible?”   Down in the trenches of human connection, not flying off the handle and always looking for the best in the other person are far easier said than done.  I have been told that this passage is a model that we should strive to emulate.  I don’t know about you, but I can strive till the cows come home, and I will still come up short.  Very short.

The above passage is a perfect description, however, of God’s love – unchanging, unconditional, and eternal.  His heart is the wellspring from which this love flows out over the entire universe, covering every man, woman and child.  Our challenge on this Valentine’s Day is to open our hearts to Him, today and every day, so that His love will not only cover us, but flow through us to those who need our unconditional love.