Charles M. Schulz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip, was a master at capturing the human condition. The television special "A Charlie Brown Christmas" is no better example. But he also tapped into the modern Valentine's Day, depicting it as a competitive sport. As a victim of the 1970s classroom Valentine's Day parties, that comic strip series resonated with me.
Much like Christmas (and every other religious holiday, for that matter), Valentine's Day has been hijacked and exploited by anyone wanting to make a buck. In the workplace and schools, where guys and gals eagerly await to see who gets what, this "love" holiday bears any resemblance to what true love is.
You can't find roses and heart-shaped chocolate boxes in God's Word.
But you can find real love within the walls of Living Water Community Church.
Phileo Love
Phileo love, not to be confused with Philadelphia, the city of NOT brotherly love, is a warm, affectionate love towards friends, usually bonded by similar interests and beliefs.
*This type of love is found in friendly banter and gentle teasing within the small groups, Bible studies, and every place people volunteer together.
*It’s in deep and light conversations held in the church lobby, before and after services, either sitting in the newly appointed furniture in the west lobby or standing with coffee and a pastry by the kitchen. Close your eyes for a second. Can you hear the laughter?
*You can see phileo love during the first service in the center aisles of the worship room, where the guys and gals of Venture huddle together to worship and hear God's word.
*It is fostered in every exciting activity planned by the singles group FOCAS.
*Phileo love took over the Bongiorno Conference Center among the women at the Whatever is True retreat last October. It was in the conversations in the dining halls, the walking trails, and the rooms we slept in. In fact, all of the events planned by Sisters at the Well aim to cultivate phileo love.
*And although I've never been there myself, it's probably in the midst of the campfires organized by Men of Valor. Unless they manage to set it on fire.
Agape Love
Agape is the highest form of love in the Bible and one we, as Christ-followers, should emulate. It is sacrificial, unconditional, and selfless.
*I saw it when my Thursday Night Zoomers small group showed up like a band of brothers at my mom’s funeral. And when leaders from our church came to visit her in hospice care.
*You can't miss it in the Children's and Student Ministries, where the leaders work tirelessly to share the gospel in a meaningful, understanding way and where volunteers risk sickness and sass from kids who aren't their own.
*You'll find it in every corner of the Compassion Ministry, from the leaders to the people who donate their money, to the office staff who take in the information, listening to the needs of those who came for help. And then...they pray over them.
*Agape love takes up all the oxygen in our church on Monday nights when ESL classes are held. Each leader, teacher, assistant, and van driver serve with their whole heart. And it shows.
*And let's not forget what our church family gives of themselves to serve in Outreach Ministries like the Saturday Morning Street Ministry, The Food Pantry, the Vehicle Repair Ministry, and the Meal Ministry.
Because ultimately, both kinds of love are experienced through service. God gives us the inimitable opportunity to bless others with our service while forming bonds of friendship that can last a lifetime.
Take the time to check out Living Water's Ministries link on their website. See where you can show and find love within the many opportunities to serve. Go find out what you've been missing out on.
If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers and understand all the mysteries and all knowledge, and I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind;
love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant or rude. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
So now faith, hope, and love abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13: 1-7, 13, ESV
That's what Valentine's Day is all about, Charlie Brown.
Beautifully written, as always, and when I closed my eyes I could hear the laugher. 😄
As always, excellent work, Janet. Look at you casually dropping an "inimitable" on us! I love it! (Pun intended.) 😀
As usual, Janet captures biblical truth with a dash of her signature wit!