Love Outbound

We are approaching that day of the year where almost everything is pink or red – yep, you guessed it, the Hallmark Holiday, Valentine’s Day. Wikipedia has a pretty good (and I sure 100% accurate!) article on the origins and evolution of this. Poor St. Valentine! To be relegated to visions of obese flying cherubs who have no relation whatsoever to the mighty Heralds who are legitmate angels.

Which brings me back to my thoughts this morning about love. God calls Himself Love. God also talks about love being about giving…as is His example over and over again. Still learning, I do not see anywhere where God’s love (of which we are to be examples) is predicated on expecting or demanding a return. He is true to Himself, and a significant part of His perfect character is Love.

So – riddle me this – what if we just let His love flow out of us without keeping score? Without expecting the flowers, candy, or anything at all? What if we as Christians let the “rivers of life” flow out of us to touch our world – to let His light shine in us and illuminate things around us? Love and light…what a glorious combination.

It’s such a liberating place! Don’t get me wrong, receiving love is also a beautiful thing, as is reciprocity. It just doesn’t need to be a condition on which we build our inner decisions. We can simply be a conduit. Which is really funny, because in my job we sometimes call ourselves “gas girls”. How appropriate to just let the beauty, the glory, the mercy, the healing, the hope, the joy, the peace and the unique qualities only found in God flow from Him, through us and outbound.

Outbound Love. That’s a good mantra as a counter-culture to the hyperbole that is Valentine’s Day. Just like taking a knee for Damar, maybe this year the real Love will be on display of February 14th. I’m starting now. How ’bout you?

– RG