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Love & Intimacy

What's Love Got to Do With It?
By Lane Palmer, Dare 2 Share

For the Christian, everyday should be Valentine’s Day!

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. (I John 4:11)

It’s kinda sad when you think about it. We only have one day out of the entire year that is (supposedly) focused on the idea of highlighting love. Not that I could afford more than one Valentine’s day each year- in fact I wish V-Day was celebrated on February 29th…that way it would only come every four years.

On the other hand- for the Christian, everyday should be Valentine’s Day!

Why? Let me explain.

Someone has pointed out that we have 3 million laws established to explain only 10 commandments. But what’s love got to do with it?

Everything…Here’s why: (Warning: the following is a loose re-telling of Mark 12…you should certainly read it for yourself at some point in time)

As is was with most days in the life of Jesus, there was a group of legalistic religious nuts who were fond of playing Biblical trivial pursuit with Him on the outside chance that they might catch Him in a contradiction- or at least stump Him. They came up with silly scenarios like whether or not to pay taxes, or whether or not people who get married more than once will end up having some serious anniversary issues when they get to heaven. And as you might expect, Christ turned the tables on them- basically exposing them for the bad motive, bad mouthing buffoons that they were.

Except for this one guy. He actually was one of the sharper knives in the drawer. His quiz question for Jesus was this:

"Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

Now that’s a good question! After all, there are over 600 commands in the Old Testament- so since they are all from God, could there possibly be just one that outweighs them all?

Jesus wasn’t stumped. He didn’t need a lifeline, an audience poll, or even a 50/50 split of choices. The answer was rolling off His tongue almost before the man was finished answering:

"The most important commandment is this: `Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.' The second is equally important: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these." (Mark 12:29-31)

Christ had the answer long before the Beatles: all you need is love.

Thus everyday is Valentine’s Day because our lives should constantly be consumed with the commitment to serve God comprehensively and completely. Your first thoughts out of bed in the morning should be- “how can I demonstrate my undying love and affection to the God who created me and the Savior who gave His life for me?” Your next thoughts should be- “how can I show every single person with whom I come into contact that I am choosing to seek the best for them”?

Remember that this kind of love demands that we remain obedient even when we don’t feel like it, and that the people we dislike the most are probably the ones God requires us to love the best.

So how are you doing? Perhaps you are failing miserably- but don’t give up! Each sunrise brings a brand new chance to be a living Valentine. Don’t let the flowers of your spiritual life wilt in the vase of complacency and discouragement, commit this weekend to making the most out of your life by fulfilling the greatest commandment!

Used by permission from Christianity.com