WHAT IS REAL LOVE?

[Pastor Bayo Afolaranmi]

Dearly Beloved,

WHAT IS REAL LOVE?

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16 NIV).

Valentine’s Day (the annual celebration held on February 14 to commemorate love and affection between intimate companions) is around the corner. Traditionally, it is a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting gifts like flowers, and other gifts, sending greeting cards and love text messages (SMS) and love phone calls. Some lovers will take each other out to enjoy the special day in special ways. Many have even turned the celebration to a time of satisfying their sexual and lustful desires. All these are done in the name of expressing love to someone special.

However, what really is love that people devote this day to? To answer this, there are many traditions about the origin and widespread acceptance of the celebration of Valentine’s Day. From these traditions, there were some people that were coincidentally named Valentine between third and fourth centuries AD. According to history, these people were killed because of their love-related actions. Their kind of love is sacrificial love. That is real love.

There is Somebody who ultimately demonstrated sacrificial love. He is the Lord Jesus Christ who because of His love for mankind "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8 NIV). He laid down His life for humankind (see Romans 5:6-8; 1 John 3:16). That is real love.

As the world is planning to observe Valentine celebration this year, how many people are ready to lay down their lives for their so-called loved ones? Real love is sacrificial love. How many people are ready to demonstrate it this Valentine season?

In His service,

Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

Prayer Point: Pray that you will be able to demonstrate sacrificial love to people around you.