Lakeside

United Methodist Church

 

 

Love is in the Air!

 Ah, “love is in the air!”  February 14 rapidly approaches, the day when Cupid’s potent nectar runs freely.  Lovers rejoice, dancing and embracing the moonlight.  Valentines, candy and flowers are sent and received, each an expression of the virtues of love.  It is impossible to avoid.  Seemingly, one and all are caught up in the celebration.

       Unfortunately, in spite of all the hype, love has become in many ways a useless and meaningless word.  In our culture, it possesses a great deal of sentimentality, but very little substance.  One definition from the American Heritage Dictionary only reinforces this mindset.  Not surprisingly, it defines love in terms of our two great cultural obsessions: sex and sports. Love is defined as an “intense affection and warm feeling for another person; strong sexual desire for, a strong fondness for or enthusiasm for; or a zero score in tennis.”  In short, love has become a warm, fuzzy catchall phrase, expressing the pleasure or feelings we get from preferred soft drinks, favorite sports teams or some partner-of-the-moment.

       Such thinking cuts across the grain of our faith.  For one moment, consider how this contrasts with the Biblical witness.  As the Bible defines it, God is love.  So, love is not some nebulous, ethereal, self-seeking feeling, but is a Person.  Indeed, for us as Christians, love is a flesh-and –blood person who has a name: Jesus.  He literally defines it for us.  Love means self-sacrifice and self-giving, doing the right thing no matter what feelings or consequences may be attached to it.  It means humility and service, generosity and hospitality – not the sorts of things our culture defines as the benefits of love!

       It is interesting to note that something like this occurred at the very beginning of our faith.  When the early disciples and followers of Jesus learned of his life-transforming love, they at once knew that it was nothing like anything else they had experienced.  No word in their culture seemed to do it justice.  All definitions seemed to fall short.  So, they basically grabbed an old, archaic word for love from their past and “resurrected it!”  The word was agape, and they used it in reference to God’s love for us in Christ.  Instead of their culture defining love, they let Christ define it.  He gave love its meaning.

      May Christ define our love, not the other way around!  May He   be our example, depicting what love ought to mean for you and me in all our relationships – whether it is with spouses, family, friends, neighbors, acquaintances, fellow churchgoers or strangers.  Indeed, may our heart’s desire be that all would “know us by our love!”

 

     In Christ’s Love, 

      Pastor Ken

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

           

           

           

           

           

           

 

 

 

                                                  

                                                  

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Lakeside United Methodist Church

2900 Smallwood Drive West

Waldorf, Maryland 20603

For more information about the ministries

of Lakeside call: (301) 870-8707

or e-mail: lakesideumc@verizon.net

 

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Contents of this Web site were last updated: 08 Mar 2008