The big day of love is upon us. Men and women will go to great lengths to express their love to their significant other. Much money will be spent on flowers, chocolate, jewelry, and sweetheart dinners out. Romantic movies will be watched. Cards filled with loving words will be exchanged. Valentine’s Day is a good reminder of what we should be expressing every day to those who mean so much to us.
Every high school I have ever worked at is a virtual florist on Valentine’s Day. There are so many flowers and gifts delivered, you just can’t imagine it. Most schools hold everything in one location and then call the kids to pick things up at the end of the day. I like to walk through and see all the beautiful flowers and the occasional extra-large teddy bear.
I remember when I was a kid writing poetry. “Roses are red, violets are blue, even if I were hit in the head, I will still love you!” It wasn’t pretty or even good, but it rhymed. Poetry never really took off for me and I am not really too disappointed.
Love, on the other hand, has always been important to me. Being married to a woman who loves me in spite of all my faults and idiosyncrasies is the best gift anyone could ever hope for. Being able to express my love and knowing it is received is awesome. We aren’t perfect, but love overlooks and even forgives the imperfect. Love conquers all the barriers, but you have to work on keeping the channels of love open. You have to make time for each other.
I was raised in a loving environment. I thank God when I realize how lucky I was to be raised in a home where love prevailed. My sisters and brother and I picked on and teased each other relentlessly, but if the chips were down we were there for each other. We were family and we loved and still love each other. While distance has separated us at times, love has kept us together.
The Bible says that we will be known by our love. What does that mean? It means that our lives should be different if we are Christians. The major thing that should separate us from others is love. People should hear something different if they are around us because we should talk with love. People should see something different if they are around us because our actions should reflect God’s love.
Love is kind, not just to those who will be kind in return, but also to those who do not know God, so that they might see Him in us. Love is gentle, so we should act in gentle ways towards others. Love thinks of others, so people should look at our lives and see through our actions that others are important. Love is patient, and we are all given plenty of opportunities to exercise that quality.
Love is really a heart attitude…no pun intended. People filled with God’s love don’t look at the outside of a person; they are more concerned with what is going on inside a person. People who walk in love see the potential in others. They see the best and believe the best about others. Love gives us the ability to forgive others even when we have been wronged. Jesus forgave those who crucified him, shouldn’t we live in such a way that grace, mercy, and forgiveness flows out of us? But all of this needs to be rooted and grounded in love.
I believe that one of the most important reasons we are called to walk in love is because that is the essence of God. We are called to walk with God in life, but we are also called to walk in Him, in love. God loves us unconditionally. Even though we all sin and fall short of His desire for our lives, He still loves us. God believes in us and in our ability to become more like Him. God knows our true potential and wants to see us walk in it. To reach our fullest potential we have to walk in love, in God.
I want to encourage you to walk in love. Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. God does those things for you so you can do them for others. People can be touched by God through you if you are walking in love. It is the season of love, so allow God’s perfect love to flow through you.

Faith resident Doug Creamer teaches marketing at East Davidson High School.