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Ah, Valentine’s Day. What a wonderful time to celebrate True Love.
When I was young, I was in love. True love. Never-ending love.
I would sit and listen to Sonny James as he told MY story
Young love, first love Filled with true devotion
Young love, our love We share with deep emotion
Just one kiss from your sweet lips Will tell me that your love is real
And I can feel that it’s true We will vow to one another
There will never be another Love for you or for me
And I would think about my true love.
The beautiful blonde beauty queen.
Or maybe the lovely blonde cheerleader.
Or perhaps the cute little Louisiana bell who wore the shortest shorts I’d ever seen.
But at each particular time, I was sure it was true love.
The Bible tells us of three forms of Love.
Philos is the love you show to your family; your friends.
Ethos is the passionate and intimate love shown between husband and wife.
But Agape, that is an unconditional love that transcends all others.
Love has the great characteristic of not ever being used up. The more it is expressed, the more it expands.
Love will actually grow through stages.
When I first met my wife Judy, it was Ethos that attracted me to her. After several years it also became Philos. Not only was she my lover, but she was my best friend. And now that we have been together for almost 30 years, I have added Agape.
And this, my friend, is True Love. All the others are merely infatuations compared with Agape.
And it should not be reserved for only our spouse.
It should be the love for everyone we come in contact with.
It should be for our friends and family members, regardless of their flaws.
It should be for that young, un-married mother in Walmart with her three rowdy, unkempt children.
It should be for that homeless person in line at McDonalds, as he counts out nickels and dimes hoping to have enough to buy a cup of coffee to warm him up. Even if he smells!
It should be for that girl on the elevator, with at least a dozen piercings in places we never knew you could pierce. Or the young man, covered with tattoos.
It should be for that person who lives an alternative life style that is so alien to our beliefs.
These things should be so very easy for us, because they are so simple compared to the greatest act of Agape Love performed more than two thousand years ago, when Christ surrendered his body, and his spirit, to give us eternal life.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends
What better time to begin showing love, true Agape Love, than during Valentine’s Day. Then continue to show it throughout the year. And if you share enough Agape Love, you will Find Hope & Happiness.
I hope you’ll leave me a comment.
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