Love? Really!?!

Well, it has come and gone once again - the holiday that is second only to Christmas for money spent on gifts in the form of flowers, candy, jewelry, etc. etc. ad nauseum. I hope yours was a meaningful holiday, and you were truly blessed by being the giver and receiver of gifts of love!

Enough for the sarcasm, right? And especially since I am one of those who fit the above mentioned description. Yes, I gave my wife gifts, I gave my daughter gifts, and I took them out to eat - all for the sake of love! I hope they knew I loved them before the gifts and the meal, but I had to make sure, you know. You can never take this love thing for granted.

But oh, how often we do take it for granted. My wife and I have been married 38 1/2 years now. I have been married much longer than not. As a matter of fact, I am getting awfully close to having been married two thirds of my life! And yes, to the same woman! Now, some would say that is a remarkable feat, especially in light of the present day attitude toward marriage, divorce and remarriage. It is not unusual these days to meet individuals who have been married two, three, four, five or even more times. Now please don't misunderstand what I am saying: I am not casting stones, but rather only making an observation.

Because, you see, I could just as easily have been one of those statistics. Early on in our marriage, my wife and I had our share of explosions! Verbal assaults that could be heard down the street - way down the street! Early on in our marriage it was all about me. I made decisions based on my wants and desires. Oh, yes, I would tell Teresa regularly that I loved her (there is that word again), and I guess I meant it, as far as I could understand it. But our "love" relationship was all one-sided. My side! So, four years in, we decided it was over, if it had ever really gotten started. And again, this was pretty much a one-sided decision. I wanted out. I wanted to live my life the way I wanted to live with no strings attached. So, we had talked about who would get what (out of the paultry little we had - I was really good at wasting all the money we had for my satisfaction!).

But then, something really amazing happened. I heard God speak! Yes, I mean exactly what I said. I heard Him. It was on a Thursday morning, the date was September 8th, 1977. I heard Him so clearly that I was overcome with His message to me - yes, God had a personal message for me! I went home that Thursday evening and told Teresa about my divine encounter. She laughed! Imagine that - she laughed about my message from God! Of course, the reason she laughed is because she thought I was undoubtedly joking. Surely, God would not speak to a jerk like I was back then.

But, I persisted. I told her I was going to church on Sunday. She laughed again. You see, we really weren't much interested in the whole church scene. However, by Saturday night she was convinced that I was serious about going to church. She still refused to join me, so I went alone. I sat on the back pew. I sat alone, even though I know most of the people at this particular church. The pastor knew me well: he had been to my house on many previous occasions trying to share with me the amazing love of Jesus Christ.

I told him I needed to be saved, but that I was not going to make that decision without my wife. So, we made an appointment for him to come to my house on Tuesday, September 13, 1977. He came, more importantly, God came, right there to my house! And after three hours and forty-five minutes of answering question after question, my wife and I both committed our lives to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. (I'm still working on that Lord part!)

That is when I first understood the word "Love." It is a word we throw around pretty casually: I love you, honey; I love my dog; I love pizza, etc. Now I am smart enough to figure out that we don't feel the same way about pizza as we do about our spouse (even though I have to admit, the way I see some treat their spouse I sometimes wonder!), but the fact of the matter is that we throw that word around without really thinking about what we are conveying.

Well, here goes an attempt. I love my wife more today that ever before. My love for her grows with each passing day, month after month, year after year. She is without question my best friend, my comforter when I am sick, my encourager when I am discouraged - yes, Teresa is my soul mate.

But Teresa knows that there is someone I love more than her. And I know there is someone she loves more than me. You see, that night 35 years ago when Jesus came into our lives, He also came into our home. He did the unspeakable and unthinkable to secure our salvation - He gave His life, paying the penalty for my sin, taking the punishment of my hell. How could I not love Him more than any person on earth.

The fact of the matter is, I did not know what the word "love" meant until I experienced His love. His is the really thing. Nothing selfish about His love. Nothing self-seeking, narcissistic about His love. His is pure, undefiled, unadulterated love. He gives freely to any who will receive His gift.

I hope you already know His love. And I hope that having His love as a reality in your life has enabled you to show more love to those in your circle. And, I hope that we are all trying to give His love away to those who, like me those many years ago, spoke the word, but knew nothing about the reality.