WHAT MANNER OF LOVE!

[Pastor Bayo Afolaranmi]

Dearly Beloved,

WHAT MANNER OF LOVE!

"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1 NKJV).

For some time now, many people have been talking about love, and they will celebrate "love" on February 14, a day popularly known as "the Valentine's Day." However, the kind of love that people are presently talking about and that is been celebrated on February 14 is erroneous. It is indeed "lust" not love! Even if one claims that "the Valentine's Day" has to do with a love between a man and a woman in love (whether married or not), the original intention of the celebration is to demonstrate sacrificial love of one person to another.

This manner of sacrificial love was demonstrated by God. Hear Paul: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8 NKJV). Apostle John explained this in other words: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16 NKJV). This sacrificial love made everyone who accepts it to be a child of God! It made the person to be a heir in the kingdom of God. Such a person like a true son, not a servant or slave, can now come boldly to the throne of God with confidence and freedom (see Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:16; 10:19-23). It is a pity that the world does not know this kind of love, hence, the wrong celebration of the Valentine's Day.

The manner of love that God had, and is still having, for the world - the sacrificial love - the manner of love that will give out something tangible and indelible to the recipient should be the focus of anyone this Valentine season and all the time. The Valentine season should remind us of a sacrificial love that we can give not only to our loved ones, but to everyone that we encounter. It should never be a time of satisfying one's lustful desires.

What manner of love do you want to demonstrate this Valentine season?

In His service,

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).