FAY ROWE

It’s Valentines Day tomorrow.

Memories of paper hearts passed secretly or in decorated boxes in elementary school, fantasies about a romantic dance on a faraway beach, or even a sweet picture of a senior couple holding hands on a park bench, all support our belief in the reality, endurance, and power of Love.

And this in spite of broken promises, divorce, abuse, and movies about abuse that make big bucks and big inroads into society’s norms.

We still believe in love. Or want to.

Why, I wonder do we so easily give up on God’s love?

“No we don’t, Fay! Believers in God believe in his love! Surely, you mean unbelievers — non-Christians — are those who don’t believe in His love?!”

Do we ever read God’s promises and leave them in the book, not expecting their fulfillment, at least not in our lifetime? Can we think of any promise we’ve read without the attendance of any true hope? Do we really think that Love, himself, makes promises he won’t keep, when we know he can?

Do we sometimes trust only in the promise of Heaven, and even then with our fingers crossed?

Let’s be honest. We do that in more ways than we’d like to admit.

“Believe the love…” The scriptures call us to this.

How about we all refuse to give up on our faith in God’s love, in his faithfulness, at least as much as we refuse to give up on the love of friends and family in spite of how often their love seems to fail? And how about we start to encourage each other in this process?

Will it take courage? Yes.

Will some think we are naive, foolish, uncaring? Perhaps, yes.

Does God’s word support us in it? Yes.

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us.”
Romans 8:37