Valentine’s Day has always been one of my favorite days of the year because it’s a whole day dedicated to celebrating love, but the actual concept of love has always been mysterious to me.
I remember being in high school, and a friend of mine told me about a guy who she really liked. A few weeks later, with a twinkle in her eye, she told me, “I think I love him!” That experience raised a question in my head: What is this thing called love? How does a person know if they “love” someone? After thinking a lot about it, I came to the conclusion that true love is deeper than just a feeling. Real and genuine love is based on decision. Love is a choice.
It seems like society puts the focus of Valentine’s Day on romantic relationships, but to me it’s also a day to express love to my friends. When I think of the friends in my life, I realize how blessed I am. I love my friends so much! However, true friendship is never easy. We have our disagreements and our differences. But in the end, I choose to love my friends and they choose to love me. Love infiltrates the shallow surfaces of things.
Jesus is the best gift that mankind has ever received because He is love! During His time on this earth, love poured out from His soul as He displayed the most genuine love that mankind has ever seen. He chose to love the broken, the thieves, the liars, the cheaters and even the prostitutes. It wasn’t simply a feeling that stirred in His heart; it was a deep and radical love. Even when He was breathing His last breath, He was exhaling love upon the very men who were spitting and cursing His name. I’m sure at some point He felt like calling down 10,000 angels who were ready to take Him off the cross and put His pain to rest, but He didn’t take the easy way out. He made the choice to love and to lay His life down as a sacrifice, even for the very people who crucified Him. As He hung on the cross, bearing all the sins of the world, He chose love. And now the choice is ours.
Jesus was an example for us, teaching us to choose to love those around us who don’t always deserve it. This type of love does not come from ourselves because, by nature, we are sinful and self-centered. Only by choosing to accept the love that God offers can we truly and deeply love those around us. So what will you choose?