How Do I Love Thee?
by Pat N., Life Group Leader
Published in MC Midweek Feb. 15, 2023
When you see February on the calendar, what comes to mind? VALENTINE’S DAY! It's a day dearly beloved by florists, Hallmark cards, jewelers, chocolatiers, and fancy restaurants. School children may have decorated shoeboxes and drawn construction paper hearts to put sweet notes in the boxes for their friends. Guys may still write poems to their loved one, girls may still “swoon” when they hear that special song….
And then there’s that book, The Five Love Languages, which people “speak” love the way their darling can understand. According to the author, the five ways we give and receive love are: Acts of Service, Gifts, Physical Touch, Quality Time and Words of Affirmation. Got it?
Some of us may need a Rosetta Stone (look it up) to help transmit and receive love to and from others. Here are some examples:
Acts of Service: Jesus fed 5,000 men, plus women and children. (Matthew 14:13-21)
Gifts: Jesus gives us Life. (John 11:25-26)
Physical Touch: Jesus touched and healed. (Matthew 8:1-4)
Quality Time: When Jesus was alone with his disciples, he explained everything. (Mark 4:34)
Words of Affirmation: Jesus affirms Peter’s faith and calls him “blessed.” (Matthew 16:17-19)
Jesus knows what we want and need, and he lavishes us with great gifts. How can we show our love for Jesus? It’s no mystery...long before a book identified five love languages, Jesus spoke plainly. We show we love him by:
- Keeping His commandments
- Loving others
- Going and telling the Good News
- Giving
- Serving
Why do we love Him? How do we love Him? Give Him his greatest desire: our heart and soul.
