is LOVE really in the air?

In December, I walked (okay ran) into my near by Target in search of some last minute Christmas wrapping paper. Going down the aisles I stop to see the clearance section, and BAM!! I see it, and end cap of big, red, hearts....everywhere! What! NO!! Christmas is not even here, and they already have Valentine's Day things! I know that our retail industry just thinks way ahead of each and every holiday and tries to rush it out as soon as they can. But seriously, I don't think it was the fact that Target did this right in between two other holidays. (Christmas and New Years) It is more about that particular day that got me thinking about Valentine's Day.

In Wikipedia it says that, "Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the English-speaking countries, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering candy". The holiday is named after two Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. When I was younger I use to love to get Valentine "grams" at school. And see who got more grams and from whom. Or who was your "secret crush". In the my Bible it says the greatest gift is Love.In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." I do know what Paul told the Corinthians in the famous Love chapter. Love never fails. Love’s greatest expression may be when it is not reciprocated. Think about it. Paul wrote: But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 There is a different territory of love found in loving when it is not reciprocated, when it is not readily returned. To love when being loved is a deeply gratifying experience but if that is all there is to my love then it ultimately is only as deep as the other person’s gratification of my needs. I think God wants more for us. To discover the meaning of loving when not being gratified can be a deeply spiritual experience as well as a deeply meaningful relational experience.It is certainly not an easy thing, to love when it is not being returned, but it is a good thing. Loving even when not loved in return may be a miracle all its own. For when we love in the circumstance of waiting, we are loving in a way that God is intimately familiar with. We are loving, like He loved us. So, this year for Valentine's Day let us love others like Jesus did. But I still can't wait for some Valentine grams!!