Valentine’s Day
1 Cor 13:4-8
Next week we celebrate a day of love and romance
St. Valentine’s Day
We really do not know exactly from where the name and idea came
There are three Catholic saints named Valentine or Valentinus
One legend tells that Valentine was a priest in third century Rome
Claudius II decided single men made better soldiers
Claudius forbade young men of military age to marry
Valentine ignored the law and continued marrying young couples
His refusal to follow the edict cost him his life
Another legend says that another priest named Valentine was to be martyred
He sent a letter to a young woman that had visited him
He signed it, “Your Valentine”
No one knows for certain
Neither are we certain why in February
Possibly on the birthday or day of death of St. Valentine
Some say that it is on the Roman holiday of Lupercalia, a day of purification to mark the beginning of spring
Many Roman holidays were “Christianized” in this way
Cupid is over 3000 year old
He began as the Greek god Eros
Then he was young and handsome
Later, he morphed into the Roman god. Cupid
He looked like a naked baby
Valentine cards began to show up in the 1700’s
The first Valentine discovered that was postmarked in England was 1806
Chocolate has always been considered an aphrodisiac
The Aztec king used to drink 70 cups of liquid chocolate every day
During the 1800’s chocolates became a popular Valentine’s gift
As we consider Valentine’s Day, we consider love
We cannot discuss love without consideration of 1 Cor 13
This is one of the most famous chapters of the Bible
It is quoted in many weddings
And, every year during this time
The interesting thing about this is, Chapter 13 has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day, romance, weddings or anything else we try to read into it
Paul is talking about sharing God’s kind of love through us to others
God’s love for us, and, consequently, our love for others, is . . .
Patient
Towards all men and women
It suffers all the weakness, ignorance, errors, and infirmities of the children of God
And, all the malice and wickedness of the children of this world
Not merely for a time, but forever
— Adam Clarke’s Commentary
The God kind of love can be wronged without retaliation
And show kindness and goodness to those that have wronged it
If the God kind of love finds someone better off, the God kind of love does not envy and is not jealous
The God kind of love understands that God is in charge, and determines the type of vessel each becomes
Some are eyes, some are feet and some are hands
If we have the God kind of love, we do not look at ourselves in competition with others, but as God would see us
We are not unhappy when others succeed, or happy when others fail
The God kind of love causes us to rejoice when other rejoices and mourn when others mourn
The God kind of love is not proud
We cannot have the God kind of love and brag about who we are and what we have done
The God kind of love knows without God we can do nothing, and
Bragging can hurt other people’s feelings
The God kind of love wants anything that is for the good of others, and
Does not demand its own way
A person that has the God kind of love cannot be rude, hateful, vicious or “holier than thou”
The God kind of love does not enjoy evil, porn, violence, hurtful jokes at other’s expense, etc.
The God kind of love rejoices in the truth, seeks the truth and demands the truth
The other side of the coin would read, “The ungodly resist the truth”
The God kind of love can bear up under all things and continue to hope and have faith that all will be well
It can endure all ugliness against the holder of the God kind of love, and
Always brings victory
The God kind of love never fails, is suspended or falls away
Everything else will collapse after a while, but the God kind of love never collapses
What does this mean to us?
Jesus, along with many of the apostolic writers, have told us to love others as Jesus loves us
Yes, as many modern writers have asserted, we should treat our spouses along these same lines
But it goes much further than that
We are to cover all others, not just romantically, with the God kind of love
Out bosses, our subordinates, our friends, our enemies
The stranger that cuts us off, the teacher that chooses someone else
The other person that is hired, promoted, married
Those that love us, help us, hate us and destroy us
I have some bad news
There is no way on Earth that you can do this
There is no way on Earth that I can do this
There is no way on Earth that Sister Theresa can do this
I, also, have Good News
You, I nor even Sister Theresa are required to do this
All we are required to do is to allow Christ to do this through us
I used to have a good friend that would tell his Sunday school classes,
“If you were to rob a bank and kill my wife and everybody that worked at the bank and,
Cause a school bus to flip and the children to die screaming in the fire;
They are going to shoot medicine in your veins.
But, your dying thought can be, ‘Virgil forgives me.’”
Frankly, I did not believe it
Then one of Virgil’s employees stole a large amount of money from his clients
Although it cost Virgil everything, not one client lost one penny
Virgil even took care of the employee’s family while the employee was in prison
There is no way on Earth that I could have done that
There is no way on Earth that Virgil could have done that
But, Virgil loved his neighbor enough that he could allow Jesus to do that through him
When you hear someone preaching 1 Cor 13 in a romantic sense, listen and be appreciative
But always remember, Jesus says we are to love God, neighbor and self
That is the answer to all of the law and the prophets
Think about it
To read more go to www.opendoorstochrist.org
Rev. O. K. Neal
