A Word From the Pastor

As Valentine’s Day approaches, we are reminded to show love towards all the people God places in our lives.  As we think about this non-religious holiday, it is appropriate for us to remember that God is Love.  Without God, true love cannot exist.  We are given many examples of love in our textbook, The Bible.  Passage like the "love chapter" in 1 Corinthians 13 reveal that TRUE love never fails and never ends.  Another great love chapter is 1 John 4 where we are reminded how God is the source of love.  If we struggle to define love through adult words and situation, maybe looking at love through the eyes of children will help us understand love better.  Look below how a group of 4-8 year-olds responded when asked the question, "What is Love?"

When my grandma got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore.  So, my grandpa does it for her now all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too.  That’s love.  (Rebecca, age 8)

Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.  (Kari, age 5)

Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs. (Chrissy, age 6)

Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.  (Terri, age 4)

     Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.  (Danny, age 7)

 Love is when you kiss all the time.  Then when you get tire of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.  My mommy and daddy are like that.  They look gross when they kiss.  (Emily, age 8)

Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. (Bobby, age 7)

If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.  (Nikka)

Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.  (Noelle, age 7)

     Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.  (Tommy, age 6)

 During my piano recital, I was on stage and I was scared.  I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.  He was the only one doing that.  I wasn’t scared anymore.  (Cindy, age 8)

My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night Clare,6)

Love is when mommy gives daddy the best piece of chicken.  (Elaine, age 5)

Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.(Chris, age 5)

Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.  (Mary Ann, age 4)

 When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you. (Karen, age 7)

Love is when mommy sees daddy on the toilet and doesn’t think it’s gross.  (Mark, age 6)

You really shouldn’t say “I love you,”  unless you mean it.  But if you mean it, you should say it a lot.  People forget.  (Jessica, age 8)

And the winner was a 4 year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly man who had just lost his wife.  When the child saw the man cry, the little boy went over into the man’s yard and climbed on top of the man’s lap and just sat there.  When the boy’s mother asked him what he’d said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”{ Responses copied from anonymous email message }

Remember.  Love is so much more than romance and affection.  Paul reminds us that love “bears all things, believeth all things, hopes in all things, and endures all things.”

With Christian Love,

Pastor Gary