Commentary: Valentine’s Day is a great reminder to put love into action

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New neighbors moved in across the street from another couple, and the wife started watching this new pair. Every evening, she looked out the window and noticed the husband arrive home after work. She couldn’t miss the fact that nearly every night, this man would bring home flowers or a little gift for his lady.

She’d run to greet him as he got out of the car, and he’d hand her a gift. They’d kiss and hug and then walk into the house, hand in hand.

One night after watching this same gushy scene over and over, the poor neighbor woman finally reached the breaking point. When her husband came home, she asked, “Have you noticed the new neighbors across the street?”

As he dropped his briefcase on the floor and fell into his chair in front of the TV, he replied, “Yeah, I’ve noticed we have new neighbors.”

“Do you have any idea of what they do every night?”

“No, dear,” he replied, “What do they do?”

“Every night when he comes home, he gives her a big kiss, he hugs her, and he almost always brings her a special gift like flowers or something. Why don’t you ever do that?”

Her husband stared at her with a puzzled look and said, “Honey, I can’t do that. I don’t even know the woman.”

Sorry, ladies, but I admit we husbands are sometimes a little slow. A husband and wife who had been married for thirty years constantly fussed and fought, so they decided to go to counseling.

They sat on the couch across from the young counselor bickering and arguing, and the counselor couldn’t get a word in at all. Finally, he got up, walked around to the front of the desk, pulled the woman into his arms, and planted a big Hallmark kiss on her.

He turned to the husband and said, “That’s what she needs three times a week. She needs more affection.”

The husband said, “Okay, I’ll bring her in Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.”

Joking aside, love is powerful. As Valentine’s Day approaches, both husbands and wives have a great, calendared reminder of the importance of speaking love and demonstrating love to one another. Love is the glue that holds the marriage together, and must be expressed every day, not just once a year.

Say “I love you” often and mean it. Saying “I love you” communicates not just a feeling, but a decision driven by a biblical perspective shaped by God’s supernatural, sacrificial love.

Have you ever thought about what the believer is communicating when he or she says, “I love you?"

These three important words state “I believe God led me to you.” Of all the people in the world, God chose you for me and put us together. Thus, I love YOU.

“I love you” also communicates “I’m committed to you.” I pledged to God and to you to take you as my wedded wife or husband and I’m in this marriage for the long haul. I want to honor God in this commitment.

In addition, this powerful statement relays “I delight in you.” Just as God delights in His people (Psalm 149:1), husbands and wives should delight in each other. May we rejoice in the wife (or husband) of our youth (Proverbs 5:18) as the years go by.

Not only should we state our love but also demonstrate our love. Love is something we live out (I Corinthians 13:4-7) and exhibit in daily life. Love leads to action, whether it’s taking out the trash or keeping her gas tank filled.

I once attended a surprise 50th wedding anniversary dinner for a dear couple. I asked the husband, “How did you all make it fifty years?”

He said, “Patience and sacrifice.” Short and to the point.

When I asked the wife, she offered, “Being willing to share everything with one another. Lots of not sweating the small stuff and not being petty. Love is the basis of all of it: love for God, him and self.”

God gave the greatest example of love. Romans 5:8 states, “God demonstrates His own love for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” That’s sacrificial love in action.

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David L. Chancey, the Writing Pastor, enjoys preaching, writing, and spending time with family. He is the author of Marvelous Faith: Pursuing the Faith that Makes Jesus Marvel and two other books. Visit www.davidchancey.com for more information.