14th February 2017
Tis The Season To Love
February is perceived as the season of love. Typically between couples ranging from boyfriend and girlfriend to husband and wife. Which usually leaves room for some single people to feel lonely or it causes single people to force themselves into relationships just so they are not excluded from this season of love. Well, I’m here to remind you that love is universal. Love is an emotion that manifests itself into physical action and it does not occur between couples alone. It occurs between God, friends and family and even your enemies too. Come with me as I go into detail in
explaining why valentines day and this season of love is for everyone.
1) Love God/ Love Of God
Valentines day and the month of February are periods where we can really evaluate our relationship with God. Love can be defined as “a strong feeling of affection”. Anything that is strong is unshakeable, powerful and impactful. So we can reflect on the love we have for God and question whether or not the love we have for him is unshakeable therefore whatever trial we face instead of doubting him we continue to love, honour and have faith in him. Does the love you have for God hold power therefore becomes your source of strength making you resilient and courageous. Is the love
that you have for God impactful, not only on your own life but for those around you. Does it inspire you to change and become the best version of yourself and does it do the same for others. I ask these questions because this is what all of us are striving for, the ability to love God in a way that aids a revolution in our own lives and in the lives of those that surround us. So at this period we can really consider this, and reflect on how much we love God and how much we can grow in love for him.
Moreover, it is during this season of love that we can remember the sacrificial and unconditional love of God. The love where it says in John 3:16 “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”. For this reason, not only have we been given a second chance, not only have we been freed from the penalty of death that was once given to us, not only have we been given the opportunity to live a life where we have the gift of free will, not only are we totally and completely washed from all the sins we
have committed and will commit but we also have a prize waiting for us if we continue to serve God wholeheartedly and faithfully. And this prize is not heaven alone. Isn’t this amazing. We are taught through the love of God what true love is. True love is forgiving someone when they don’t deserve it, loving someone with all your heart when they take you for granted, protecting the one you love even when the danger they find themselves in is because of their doing and finally giving even when you know they cannot adequately pay you back. God is the epitome of love. And we have to remember that not just today or in this month but everyday.
2) Love your friends and family
This season of love is the perfect opportunity to make sure that your loved ones know just how much you love them. Sometimes we can get so consumed in life striving to reach our goals, better ourselves and achieve more success. As a result of this we seem to neglect and forget the people that will share that joy and happiness with us when we receive good news after all that hard work. So let us remember to express our love to those who are always there for us. It doesn’t always have to be materialistic things. It has to be directly from your heart. It could even be a simple “I
love you, I appreciate you, I miss you when you’re gone”. When those words are sincere and genuine you may not know it but you have said a lot. For the reason that, sometimes the people most important to us don’t even know how important they are to us. So don’t forget to remind them and put a smile on their face!
3) Love your spouse
This form of love is sensationalised a lot throughout this period. So I don’t need to go into much detail about it. However, those of us in couples need to remember that love is not about how much
you can give materialistically but how much you give emotionally. Actions speak louder than words. But let your words also encourage, motivate and uplift. Be there for your spouse whenever they
need you to be. Don’t undermine their concerns, try and display empathy even when you don’t understand why they feel the way they do. Don’t aim to become the new #relationship goals where you aim
to look good and presentable on the outside. Whereas behind the scenes there is no growth, there is no love, there is no unity and there is no peace. Instead, work on your relationship behind the
scenes. Ensure that you both edify each other and motivate each other to become the best version of yourselves. From that point this would radiate through and people will make you the new
#relationship goals icon even without you saying anything. All in all. Just learn to love as Christ loves us. Unconditionally.
4) Love your enemies
This is truly hard. I haven’t even mastered it yet. I’m talking to all of us. I’m not saying this is something we will easily captivate today and February alone but I’m saying that it is during this season that we need to make a conscious decision to learn to forgive and not just tolerate but love. Now, if we are truly made in the image of God and if God is truly our role model. This request shouldn’t be labelled as a big ask at all. For the reason that, we all know how God was crucified and persecuted constantly by those he loved. If he was anything like us, he could have literally looked at them and they would be dead. Instead he continued to love them, protect them, provide for them, wake them up every morning and strengthen them. He did this without any grumbling or any complaining instead he did this with gladness. To be honest, this pill is easier to swallow when we recognise that when we develop the ability to love our enemies just as God
loved us we will become more like Christ. And this is the best kind of achievement that we can ever obtain. So let’s all try to obey God’s word and God’s command and love our enemies regardless of how hard it is. Surely, we know that God will not ask us to do something that we are incapable of doing. Yes, it will challenge us. But every challenge we face makes us stronger, wiser and better.
“But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” Matthew 5:44.
5) Love yourself
Don’t focus on investing in every other relationship without investing in yourself first. Learn to love yourself first so that you can know what love is and learn to love others too. Because when you love yourself. Appreciating somebody else’s beauty doesn’t make you less beautiful, appreciating somebody else’s success doesn’t make you a failure and appreciating somebody else’s happiness won’t lead to jealously. So love God and when you see yourself through the eyes of God you will learn to love yourself and then have joy in loving others. Including your enemies.
All in all. Don’t wait for valentines day to come before you show the love don’t even wait for February to come. One day in the year or one month in the year is not enough. Let love be a lifestyle. Let it be a character trait! Let love live and breathe in your community because God knows we need it!!!
Happy Valentines day! Love today and always xx
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