Photo by Andrea Tummons on Unsplash
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
(Ephesians 4:32, NASB1995)
This week we will be celebrating “Valentine’s Day”. Showing love to a special person or group of people will be high on the list of things we will want to do. We may show our love with a special gift or special act. It may be a gift that is small in material value, but big in heartfelt emotional value.
For example, our children might draw us something special signed only with the priceless words, “I love you!”
The Bible also tells us that we can show the depth of our love for someone by being kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving towards them. Depending on a lot of factors this can seem like an impossible task. It may seem easier to just buy them a box of candy or another gift and feel like we have done our duty.
The difficulty of extending kindness, tender-heartedness, and forgiveness to someone gives us an appreciation of the depth, breadth, and width of God’s love for us. Before we quickly give up on these acts and attitudes towards others, remember that God wants us to extend these acts and attitudes to others as He did to us. As God has forgiven us, we must forgive others.
Do we truly love others as we say we do on Valentine’s? Then love and forgive that special person as God in Christ also has forgiven you. As Pastor David Jeremiah stated, “How did God in Christ forgive us? He forgave us unconditionally, willingly, generously, permanently, graciously, completely sacrificially…” As God loves us and forgives us, so we must love and forgive others.
Let us show our love to others on Valentine’s Day and every day, at a level that God loved us. Then, the person we say we love, will know that it is truly so.
Pastor Arnold