I do not have a Valentine’s Day blog in my 220+ posts over these past seven years. That might be because I address the concept of loving others in most of my posts. To highlight Valentine’s Day, let me state my belief: Love is a verb. It is not a wish, nor an emotion, but an action verb. Love must be demonstrated; it must be acted out and acted upon. The shape of our day should reflect the love of our life.
Love takes work and ‘work’ is the definition of a verb. Stephen Covey, advocated that ‘love is a verb’ and that love ‘the feeling’ is a fruit of love ‘the verb.’ If we take a moment to really consider the meaning of love, we will see that it is filled with actions—sacrificing, serving, listening, honoring, protecting, trusting, appreciating, affirming, among many others. There is also inaction that can be viewed as action—holding our tongue, controlling anger or envy, not keeping score.
Love is about making a positive difference in people’s lives, all people’s lives. Love is being wise, sticking with proven principles, and taking basic actions that help us create joy in our relationships, friendships, work connections, and marriage. It is accepting people for who they are, including difficult people; developing a sincere interest in others, learning what they care about; and forgiving hurtful actions.
“You always gain by giving love.” ― Reese Witherspoon.
American writer and civil rights activist, James Baldwin said, “The longer I live, the more deeply I learn that love — whether we call it friendship or family or romance — is the work of mirroring and magnifying each other’s
light.” The great Catholic theologian and philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas defines love as “willing the good of another.”
If love is a verb, there’s no ‘too late.’ It’s a conscious choice. If we don’t feel love anymore, that is exactly the indication that we need to choose to act. True love is not something that can be bought or found. Love cannot be sustained by empty promises or IOUs. Learning to love takes practice.
The song “Love is a Verb” by John Mayer stresses that love is not just a feeling or a thing, but a deliberate action. The lyrics imply love is not something to say, but something to demonstrate with a repeated emphasis on “show me,” rather than just talking about it.
Marvin Gaye wrote the song, “How Sweet It Is.” The song is the perfect, catchy tune to tell someone how they’ve made our life better through their love: “I needed the shelter of someone’s arms/ I needed someone to understand my ups and downs/ And there you were/ With sweet love and devotion deeply touching my emotion/ I want to stop and thank you, baby/ How sweet it is to be loved by you.”
“In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make” written by Paul McCartney for the Beatle’s song, The End. It is the last lyric on the last album they recorded, essentially their closing statement and a perfect epitaph.
How did the early church have such a profound impact with no money, power, or influence? By giving their heart and soul to God; loving and serving others selflessly and sacrificially; loving the unlovable; caring for those no one else would care for; risking their lives to comfort those dying of infectious disease; and sacrificing their own possessions for orphans and widows. Their actions were so powerful the society around them could not help but notice.
Beloved is to be loved by God; then become a lover of others. In 1 John
4:11, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.” Love as we share in it testifies to the nature of God and to his presence in our lives. God’s essence is love and one without God is without love. The love we have for one another must be the same authentic, merciful, and unique Christian love. It is our proof that we know God and can “see” Him in the faces of others.
Love intentionally as Jesus commanded. They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our actions. I believe being a Christian means ‘being saved by Grace, through our Faith, which we demonstrate by showing our Love.’
