Amazing Love

Valentine's Day is a day that's famous for showing others how much you love them. How do you express your love for others?

Do you have anyone in your life that you love? I love my parents, my sister and brother, my nieces and nephews, my friends, and all of the children I'm blessed to teach - in work and church. No matter what life throws at you, there's always someone for you to love. I find that when I've had a hard day at work, I'm looking forward to call my sister and talk to her and the kids on the phone after work. They just brighten my day! It also gives me an excuse to share some time with people I love dearly - even if it is just on the phone. I'm sure there's a loved one in your life that brightens your day, too. In the same turn - no matter what life throws at you, there's always someone who's there to share love with you. Whether it's a significant other, a friend, or a family member there's always someone who wants to hear how your life is going whether it's good or bad. They want to know exactly what's going on so they can give you the love and encouragement that you need.

Valentine's Day is coming up in a few days, and I have to be honest with you guys... Valentine's Day is actually one of my least favorite holidays. There's just something about a holiday that's been directed towards couples that just doesn't sit right with me, being single. Singles awareness day, anyone? I've decided this year to look at it more as a holiday of love in general rather than just a day to remind me that I don't have a significant other in my life. I've bought Valentine's Day gifts for my nieces and nephews and plan to do the same for my parents. I'm going to appreciate the people in my life that I love a little bit more that day. I encourage you to do this too if you feel the same way that I do about Valentine's Day.

"Let all that you do be done with love" 1 Corinthians 16:14

We can show love to others in many more ways than just buying them chocolate and giving them their favorite flowers. We can show love in the things that we do for them. An example - my dad will often wash the dishes for my mom when he notices them piling up in the sink. A thing you should know about us is that our kitchen is too small to have a dishwasher, so my mom usually washes them by hand. My dad will do them to help her out - because he loves her. Usually, my mom ends up having to rewash many of the dishes because my dad can't see all the dirty spots very well, but I try to remind her that my dad just wants to help her out to show his love. You can do small things like that for your loved ones to show that you care.

I teach in the children's ministry at my church more than I'm scheduled to - it's no secret to anyone who knows me. Recently, someone heard that I was covering again and said that I was being taken advantage of. I replied that, in the contrary, I was covering that person's spot because I love those children and wouldn't want to leave them without a teacher. If I'm teaching more than I'm scheduled to, it's out of love. I have a love for teaching and helping children learn and grow. I also have a huge love for the children at my church. They are always coming up to me and starting conversations - even if I'm not teaching them that Sunday. I will never skip a conversation because I love them so much and I know they must love me if they take the time to seek me out like they do. If I'm filling in for another teacher, I'm never annoyed about the extra Sunday. I think about the reason why they couldn't teach that day and make sure I act out of love. If I'm teaching and my heart's not in it, the kids catch on very quickly and start acting up.

"We love because God first loved us." 1 John 4:19

God was the first one that loved us in this life - long before we were even a thought in our parents' minds. It's so important that we show the love of God to everyone around us because He acted in love for us before we even existed. I don't know anyone else who would send their only son to die in the place of my wrongdoings without even knowing who I was. Just looking throughout the entire timeline of Jesus' life, you'll see an immense amount of love for so many people who didn't deserve it. The kind of love that Jesus showed and still shows today is so amazing. Even the parables that were used to describe the love He has for us are amazing - the lady who lost one coin and turned her house upside down in search of it, the shepherd who left his ninety-nine sheep to find the one that had gone astray, and the story of the prodigal son. I know they are parables used to show at what lengths God will go to find our lost souls, but I also see all of these parables showing the amount of love He has for us. I mean wanting to go after our lost souls like that means God loves us, right?

David Crowder wrote a song that I absolutely love. The first time I heard it was actually when he performed it live on the Hits Deep Tour last year. This song is called "God Really Loves Us". At first, it seemed like a kind of obvious realization - of course God loves us. How could He not? But as I listened to that song at the concert and then put it on repeat in the weeks after, I realized my misunderstanding of the title. It's not God really loves us, as in He actually loves us. It's God really loves us, as in He genuinely loves us. I'm not going to include any specific lines from the song in this post, but I will encourage you to go back and give that song another listen when you get the chance. It's still one of my favorites. Before I go, I want to wish you all a happy Valentine's Day - whether you're celebrating it with your significant other or just generally appreciating all the love in your life like I am this year. I challenge you to look deeper into God's love for you. Find a Bible story, verse, or song about God's love and leave yourself a reminder about His love. It is the most amazing thing ever.