Do You Love Me? What About Them?

I am going to just come out and say it: “I Love You!”

Am I the only one that finds that which we are commanded to do in Scripture to be sometimes awkward and/or unnatural? I didn’t personally come from a “huggy” family that often told each other “I love you.” Even now, I find it somewhat uncomfortable to tell someone besides my wife or children that I love them. I believe I may show it to others by my actions, but to have the words flow from my mouth seems maybe even harder than saying, “I’m sorry.”

Scripture teaches us there should be a love between husband and wife (Ephesians 5:25, Ephesians 5:33, Colossians 3:19, Titus 2:4), a love between parents and children (Proverbs 13:24, Ephesians 6:4, Titus 2:4), a love between friends (Proverbs 17:17, John 15:13), a love between Christians (John 13:34-35, Romans 12:10, 1 Peter 3:8-9), and even a love concerning our enemies (Matthew 5:43-45, Luke 6:35).

Paul covers the act of love with his use of the word charity in 1 Corinthians 13. For it is not the mere mention of “I love you” that only matters to God, but that which lays in our hearts toward others that God judges us also. We are to live both inwardly and outwardly as Christians concerning the Word of God. Remember, man sees the outward, but God judges the inward, so both must be done if it is to be a pure act of love before man and God. (1 Samuel 16:7)

It is written, “Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13)

This is just a few things I hope to consider not only this Valentine’s Day, but each and every day of the year. As Christians, we should be a people of love, and not ashamed of it.