Happy non-Valentine's Day

For perhaps the first time in my life, Valentine's Day has come and gone generally uncelebrated for me. In past years I have gone out of my way to wear a little more red and pink than usual, but this year it just didn't happen. For whatever reason I just couldn't bring myself to celebrate the holiday in my usual manner.

I did, however, spend a vast part of the day meditating on the love of God. Quite oddly enough my musings were set off by reading about how the men that killed Ishbosheth ended up getting executed by David's men. Why? Because David had great respect for Sual and his family and as well a degree of love. That is inspite of attempts at murder, dethroning, all that.

For a couple of days my mind has been wandering back to teh song David sang at the funeral of Saul and Jonathan. David loved Jonathan because they were very close friends. He also loved Saul because he was his king. He would suffer no harm or dishonor to fall upon him. That is love. That is love that forgives and does not let the heart grow bitter. I cannot help but suppose David in this case ought to be our example for loving our enemies.

In addition to taht, I have been dwelling on 1 Corinthians 13. Many times we make it through the first 7 verses or so, and trail off around verse 8 with the phrase "love never ends" and jump to verse 13. We overlook a marvelous little bit that almost seems out of place, and for that reason it caught my attention. But, it is definitely there for a purpose.

8. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
9. For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
10. but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
11. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
12. For now e see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully even as I have been fully known.

I am no theologian, but here's how this bit strikes me. When it's all said and done all of this world, the struggles, the gifts, everything will pass away. Right now, we only get partial of everything. We only know bits and pieces of prophesy, knowledge, all that. And so, as when we left childhood and became adults we put away our silly notions and saw things more clearly; we will do so one day with prophesy, knowledge, and even love.

In that day we shall see what our faith has been clinging on to and in what we have placed our hope. One day we shall see Love, we shall see the very One who created love. At last we shall see and understand precisely why verse 13 reads, "So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

So perhaps this year I did not celebrate the day of romance, chocolate, and flowers - but I did celebrate love.