A Heart like God’s
Everyone knows that keeping your heart healthy is important. There are numerous diets and helpful medical advice for heart healthy living. Exercise and eating healthy food are just part of the plan. Vitamins and supplements are also helpful for heart health.
February is the month we celebrate Valentine’s Day. The symbol most often used is the heart. It symbolizes love. Valentine cards and flowers are on sale everywhere. Restaurants are advertising romantic dinners. Red is the color of the month it seems. Love is in the air.
I send Valentine cards to my grandchildren reminding them that they are very loved. Our first great-granddaughter was born this month one year ago. So I have been shopping for the perfect gift for her.
I remember that Valentine's Day celebration in elementary school was fun. Making cards and passing them to classmates was exiting. There was always a party in class too. My granddaughter who is now in pre-school is enjoying that fun.
Looking back to when I was teaching high school, I remember how emotional it would be in the classroom on Valentine’s Day. It was exciting for some but sorrowful for others. The kids who didn’t receive a flower or card were in pain. It was a reminder to them that no one was thinking of them, not even a parent. I always felt sad for the kids left out.
1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
God has a lot to tell us about the heart. He has a big heart and He loves us dearly. He cares for the broken hearted, the lonely, and the hurting. God cares for us even more than the little sparrow He created. He tells us He will never leave us or forsake us. There is no end to His love. Love is from God. God is love.
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
How can we show God’s love? Have a heart like God’s? Perhaps love is worth fighting for. Reaching out and going beyond our comfort zone to love with God’s kind of love.
John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
Valentine’s Day comes once a year. But we can show God’s love everyday of the year. In acts of kindness, respect, courtesy, and forgiveness we exhibit a heart like God’s.
As Luke records Jesus’ words in Luke 10:27 … “So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”