THE IDEAL VALENTINE
INTRODUCTION - If you want to be a Valentine, then you need to be the kind of Valentine someone would want to have. The following proverb is a good starting point. “A man that has friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). In other words, you must prove yourself to be a worthy valentine by demonstrating respect, compassion, and kindness. You need to be a true, loyal, and committed friend.
I. What makes for the ideal VALENTINE? VALENTINE’S DAY is commonly associated with LOVE, and rightly so, because LOVE is the more excellent way! “I will show you the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31 NIV). There are different kinds of love, but only God’s love can enable someone to be the ideal Valentine. Why, because God’s love is all about giving, not getting. The ideal Valentine demonstrates the love of God!
II. So, what is GOD’S LOVE like? God’s love is described in the following Scripture verses.“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Human love is selfish at the core—that’s all it knows, and that’s all it can do. But God’s love is selfless, self-giving, and self-sacrificing. God’s love is derived from His self-contained, self-sufficient, and self-satisfied self. The Almighty God is the one and only one who is complete within Himself. His love is all-encompassing and never-ending!
III. However, it takes God to love this way. This is because only the Lord God Almighty can produce this type of selfless love. And so He did, through His Son Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ came to Earth as God in the flesh. He fleshed out God’s love for all to see! He lived God’s love, and now you can too as you allow Christ to live through you. The fruit of God’s Spirit is love (Galatians 5:22). So, when you are filled with God’s Spirit, His love will be expressed through you. And then you will be the kind of Valentine that anyone would like to have!
The question is not, “Will you be my Valentine?” but “What kind of Valentine will you be?”
Discover the answer. READ – TRUE LOVE https://www.sourceministries.net/go/2011/03/true-love/
LewisGregory© 2015
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