Each
year on February 14th, many people exchange cards, gifts or flowers
with their special “Val.” The day of love we call Valentine's Day
dates back to the 3rd century when St. Valentine, who later
became a Christian martyr, pioneered a Love-initiative in his parting
letter to Julia, a fellow prisoner. That now redefines the essence of
unconditional love (Agape) our Lord Jesus Christ re-established in
redemption.
Similarly,
Paul –an apostle of Jesus Christ, around 55 AD wrote a Love-letter to
the Corinthian Church, explicitly describing the personality of this
Sweetheart called LOVE.
Here is “Thebiblemotivator” inspirational version of Bro Paul’s love letter (1 Corinthians 13) for 21st century Christians. It reads thus:
1Corinthians 13
1.
Though I can speak five languages and talk intelligently on dozens of
subjects, if I don’t have enough love to keep from gossiping or putting
down others, I’m not just making so much useless noise, I’m being
downright destructive.
2.
And though I read the Bible regularly and even know parts of it by
heart, and though I pray daily and have a lot of faith and other
spiritual gifts, if I don’t have enough love to sometimes sacrifice some
of my personal desires for others’ sakes, then all of my “spirituality”
amounts to nothing.
3.
And though I work two jobs to provide for my family, and though I give
to charity and volunteer for every community project that comes up, if I
don’t show love and kindness to those I live and work with, all my hard
work and self-sacrifice are worthless.
4.
Love has a long, hard, frustrating day at the office, yet doesn’t get
snappy and short-tempered. Love is happy for the other guy when he gets
all the breaks. Love doesn’t have to drive the flashiest car, live in
the biggest house, or have all the latest gadgets. Love doesn’t always have to be the boss or have the last word.
5.
Love isn’t rude or crude, isn’t selfish, and doesn’t gripe, guilt-trip,
or pressure others to get what it wants. Love is too busy being
concerned about the needs of others to spend much time worrying about
its own. Love doesn’t freak out when things don’t go its way. Love is quick to believe the best about people and slow to believe the rest.
6.
Love hates to hear gossip and instead wants only to talk about others’
good qualities and the good that they’ve done. Love knows that what it
listens to, watches, or reads will affect its attitudes and actions and
thereby have an effect on others, so it’s careful about how it spends
its time.
7. Love is flexible, takes everything in stride, and can handle whatever comes its way. Love
is always ready to give others the benefit of the doubt and looks for
the best in them. Love wants to see others reach their full potential
and does all it can to make that happen. Love never runs out of
patience, even with those who are slow to get with the program or do
their share. Love doesn’t keep looking at its watch when others are
talking.
8. Love never fails. I fail others, and others can fail me. We
all can be mistaken, misguided, or confused at times. Our words and
deeds often fall short, and our bright ideas don’t always play out the
way we want or expect them to.
9.
We’re frail, fallible, and often foolish, and our understanding of the
world we live in, not to mention the world to come, is only partial at
best.
10. But when God’s Spirit of love lives in us, that changes everything.
11. We’re really just children when it comes to practicing real love, but God can help us outgrow our childish ways
12.
Without Him we’re clueless when it comes to love and the other things
that matter most in life, but when we live in His kingdom—the kingdom of
Heaven that Jesus said is even now within us—we can see things as He
does, get our priorities straight, pull out the stops, and live and love
to the full.
13. There are lots of nice things in life and lots of good things, but none are as good or as important as love!
Take grace for Agape love. Happy Valentine
Thank you
James Adekoje
