Love is a lot of things.

Mostly, love is a verb.

It’s an action which takes many forms.

Jesus didn’t love standing still. I can’t do it either.

When I think of love, it’s something someone does for others. It comes in big packages and small. Opening a door for a lady with her arms full, paying off a loan for a young couple and sending a thinking of you text to a friend are all examples.

My favorite love in action occurrences happens when they are least expected. They come from genuine servitude. It is a high honor for me to receive something like this from a friend. It’s an even higher honor to shower someone else with this type of blessing. Approaching the “Love Holiday”, I wonder about a couple things.

Valentine’s Day is the fastest holiday turn around. Shortly after New Year’s, the store is full of candy, hearts, and proclamations of love. Pink, red and lavender items fill the aisles. Jewelry stores run tons of ads.  Come February 15^th– POOF-it’s all gone.

Valentine’s Day is all full of hearts and hope and butterflies and squishy gooey feelings.

What about the actual love part?

Aside from the over-commercialization of the pseudo-holiday, where is the love?

Candy hearts are very telling. There are strong messages printed on them, yet none of them serve anyone.  What if we made candy hearts which can be cashed in? What if they meant something?

Printed on these would be “good for one casserole after a rough day” or “present this heart for a gas fill up this week” or “This heart can be used for 2 hours babysitting”.

How about chocolate bars with a supreme message- scripture or encouraging words?

When we buy a 4-foot stuffed bear, we should fill it with music to inspire.

Maybe an easy button to push for a pizza delivered on rushed evenings.

Candles as a gift- completed by a person to share a meal with for a widow or single mom.

To make Valentine’s day worthy, maybe we should choose someone to shower with love. Think about someone you notice but haven’t reached out to. This is a prime opportunity to show love in action. There are so many people who need another person.

The difference our attention makes is lifelong. A conversation goes a long way. The truth is, we don’t really know each other if we don’t spend time together. We can’t make decisions based on social media, assumptions, and gossip. We should build new relationships through love in action.

By showing love to others we also improve our own lives. Often when reaching out to someone who is struggling, we find ourselves blessed far more. We not only give but naturally, we have a takeaway.

What can we give and who can we give it to this Valentine’s day?

Is there a momma, a widow, a single young man or a divorcee you can serve? How about the empty nesters, the grandparents whose children live far from home, or the military family whose spouse is deployed?

What about serving love to someone who serves love all the time?

• The elders at your church.
• The pastor who goes a million miles a minute.
• The librarian at the school.
• The executive who planned your daughter’s wedding.
• The bus driver who gets your preschooler safely transported.
• The manager at the grocery who special orders for you.
• The camp director.
• The PTO moms.
• The nursery worker at church.

 

These people are servants. They have a heart for doing Jesus work. Serving a servant is an act of love.

My challenge to all of us is simply this: find someone new to shower with love this week. It will be rewarding for you both.