February-The Month of Love or Is It? by Dave Blecha

What is Love?

Love is an intense feeling of deep affection!  (New Oxford American Dictionary)

As winter is upon us and the days of February have started to pass, many of us will think

of Valentine’s Day, and I can only imagine the kind of emotions and memories that will get

stirred up in your hearts and minds.  A special poetic card that you received, or maybe there

was a box of chocolates, or maybe flowers, a dozen roses by chance?  How all those things

were nice in the moment, but, is that really love?

The Love I have in my heart, and am speaking of, is the kind of Love GREATER than

any box of chocolates or poetic card or even a dozen roses in all their beauty.  I am speaking

of God’s Love! The kind of Love that is shared with us each and every day, not just

some singular day on the calendar.

What makes God’s love so amazing?  Simple, God’s Love for us was the motivation to send

his one and only Son to die for our sins.  This Love is described in 1 John 4:7-12.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has

been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because

God is love.  This is how God showed love among us: he sent his one and only Son into

the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that

 he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God

so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 

As I think about this love: I have the thought, can we truly see God?  This is where I challenge

 you to think about whether or not we can.  

I would like to first include some scripture to start your thought process from 1 John 4:12.

No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

After thinking about this scripture, I have to ask the following questions:

1.       Can people see you?

2.       Can people see the love that we show towards others?

Now if you think about your answers to these questions, and consider the words in 1 John 4:12

 “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us”,

do you think that we can see God when we see people showing love towards others? IF God

abides in us, he dwells in us – so?

I will let you think about that last question, I definitely have my answer, and I have faith that

you will have a definite answer too.

I leave you with a final piece of scripture that I hope you find encouraging and full of

God’s Love; I quote from Proverbs 3:4-5:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Closing Prayer:  Loving and Gracious Father, we come to you today as vital part of your

body to thank you for the infinite love you give to us!  We ask that you continue to let us

be witness of your love so that others may see you.  We thank you for your loving guidance

 through the Holy Spirit, and for your Son Jesus, and in his name we pray.  Amen.

Wear and Tear by Julie Short

I took the beautiful wrapped box and carefully opened the gift. Inside the wrapping lay a beautiful handmade pillow. I smiled at my Grandma and said “Thank you so much!” I hoped she would know how much I would cherish the pillow she had made with love.

I slept with the pillow every night. I took the pillow with me on all my overnight trips. Many, Many months passed and I went to visit my grandma. I brought my cherished pillow with me. I didn’t understand the look on my Grandmas face when she saw the tattered and torn Pillow. I thought she would be able to tell how much I valued and cherished the pillow by how I used the pillow, but that is not the look my Grandma gave me.

Twenty plus years have passed. I now realize what my Grandma may have thought when she saw the tattered and torn pillow. I now understand the disappointed questioning look on my grandma’s face as she stared at the pillow. “Why didn’t you cherish my gift? Why didn’t you take care of the pillow keeping it clean and protecting it from daily ware?

Oh how I wish I could tell her “Grandma I did cherish the pillow, I loved it that is why I used it.” If we cherish, value a gift what do we do with it? Do we use it or put it away? How do we cherish God’s word? Do we put the bible up, careful not to allow wear and tear to touch the precious gift? Do we use it every day, carry it with us always and strive to live by God’s spoken word?

Sometimes I feel tattered and torn. I often look at my life like grandma did my pillow. I question why such wear and tear, why such hardship? Why was I not cherished?

Now I finally see:

“Oh how God loves and cherishes me!”

“Oh how God Loves and cherishes you!”

All for the glory of God our Father!