With the recognized day of romance, Valentine’s, just a few days away, many are beginning to think about the crazy thing called love. Fondly we remember meeting the love of our lives and we reflect on how suddenly our lives took another trajectory. Amazing what love does!
While many songs are written, and we reflect on the emotions we experience, the Bible has a less romantic but profound definition. 4Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. I Cor. 13
Someone wisely said, there is no better gift than the gift of appreciation. When you value a person, you will help lift them to want to do more and achieve more. Don’t be shy, these days, share your appreciation! Show your love & appreciation to those in your life every day, and on Valentine’s Day, especially to your true love! Maybe consider treating yourselves to a romantic dinner. If you can’t ‘eat in’ somewhere, consider ‘take out’ or ‘delivery’!
At East Zorra, as we meet this Sunday, at our Annual Meeting, reviewing all that God has done in us, and thru us, in 2021, there will be plenty of appreciation. We are better together! As we appreciate and support one another, we bring out the best in each other. We are God’s team, working together to know Him and make Him known.
The apostle Paul admonishes us: It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows. For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That’s an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then? Gal. 5:13-15 the Message.
Keep on lovin’!
Pastor Lloyd