Modern society has a distorted view of what love really is. Considering the divorce rates in America, one falls out of love as much as one falls in love. The term “fall in love” is ridiculous when you sit and think about it. The basis in which we associate with the concept of love is purely emotional, this is a bad mistake. True love is supported by emotion, not led by it. True love is a choice, not a feeling.
“LOVE A feeling of deep affection. A central theme in Scripture and Christian theology and ethics. Defines our relationship with God and dictates how we should treat others.” – Benjamin I. Simpson, “Love,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
For Those We Love
Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us [especially _______] to your never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that you are doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
“A caring commitment, in which affection and delight are shown to others, which is grounded in the nature of God himself. In his words and actions, and supremely in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, God demonstrates the nature of love and defines the direction in which human love in all its forms should develop.”
This set of themes consists of the following:
- love, of God
- love, and Jesus Christ
- love, and Holy Spirit
- love, nature of
- love, for God
- love, for one another
- love, in relationships
- love, and the world
- love, and enemies
- love, abuse of
Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies (London: Martin Manser, 2009).
“The word “love” in the Old Testament essentially expresses an emotional experience emerging from one’s perceptions of and relationship with some aspect of the physical realm (whether persons or things). The emotive emphasis of the word is underscored by its use in parallelism with its polar opposite, “hate” (for example, Deut. 5:9–10; Prov. 9:8; Isa. 61:8; Mal. 1:2–3). The term may describe an array of human feelings and relational situations, including: simple partiality or preference (for example, Isaac’s taste for wild game, Gen. 27:4), carnal appetites (for example, sleep, Prov. 20:13; or wine, Prov. 21:17), political alliance (1 Kgs. 5:1), friendship (Prov. 17:17), parental affection (Gen. 25:28), kinship bonds (Ruth 4:15; 1 Sam. 18:16), romantic love (Gen. 24:67; 1 Sam. 1:5), as well as lust (2 Sam. 13:1) and sexual acts (Ezek. 16:33, 36).” – Eugene E. Carpenter and Philip W. Comfort, Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew Words Defined and Explained (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 120.
“St. Valentine (died 3rd century, Rome; feast day February 14) is the name of one or two legendary Christian martyrs whose lives seem to have a historical basis. Although the Roman Catholic Church continues to recognize St. Valentine as a saint of the church, he was removed from the General Roman Calendar in 1969 because of the lack of reliable information about him. He is the patron saint of lovers, people with epilepsy, and beekeepers.”
“By some accounts, St. Valentine was a Roman priest and physician who was martyred during the persecution of Christians by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus about 270. He was buried on the Via Flaminia, and Pope Julius I reportedly built a basilica over his grave. Other narratives identify him as the bishop of Terni, Italy, who was martyred, apparently also in Rome, and whose relics were later taken to Terni. It is possible these are different versions of the same original account and refer to only one person. Numerous churches around the world claim to be in possession of his relics. These include his skull on display in a glass reliquary at the Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, a shoulder blade housed at the Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Prague (after having been discovered in the church’s basement in 2002), a vessel tinged with his blood in addition to sundry other artifacts at the Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin, and relics kept inside a wax effigy of the saint situated in front of the altar of Old St. Ferdinand Shrine in Florissant, Missouri.”
“According to legend, St. Valentine signed a letter “from your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter, whom he had befriended and healed from blindness. Another common legend states that he defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from being conscripted to serve in war.”
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “St. Valentine.” Encyclopedia Britannica, February 14, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Valentine.
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