How do you feel when someone says, "I love you!"? Words like these are inspiring. They have the power of bringing out the best inside of us, perhaps even encouraging us to go in a new direction, plan new goals, new dreams and they can also change the direction of our life.
The feeling of loving and being loved is fantastic. This emotion relieves tensions and provides us one of the greatest experiences in the human relationship. God created us to love. He placed in us an enormous potential of love with the purpose of teaching us not only to speak of love, but to live love in all of its fullness.
Since I began my work here in the Division, I have faced new realities in relation to family, changes that take some time for us to get used to. One of these changes is the fact of having to live with the constant distance between myself and my husband and my children. It is said that love is tested by distance; I have to agree with whoever made this statement, although it is not easy to put this into practice.
There are times when it seems that my heart is not going to withstand the distance. Then, the telephone rings and someone on the other end of the line says, "Hello! I just called to say I love you!" These words remove the distance and bring us close. They change everything. One's heart beats stronger, a smile comes across one's face and one's eyes sparkle and shine. It is as though they perform magic!
Words of love have power. They can sustain a heart during days, months, and years—that is what the magazine, Salude (Health), stated several days ago.
The problem is that as human beings, we have minimized love as a factor of happiness and health. We forget to love. We no longer have time to love. As a consequence of this, the way that we behave in our relationships has become jeopardized. Without a doubt, we face a lack of expressions of love, not only in our ministry and in daily relationships, but especially within our homes.
My son sings in a group at Paran Adventist Academy which is lead by Jader Santos, and one of the songs that they sing tells us that love never fails. This song warms any heart: One does not need to be a genius, or to be wise
To discover that things are going from bad to worse
When you lack courage, when you lack faith,
When it seems that fear silences your voice.
If you walk alone, if you have no friends.
Look up and feel that Someone loves you.
When failure comes, when tears arrive,
Behind this cloud shines the sun.
Know that love never fails,
Know that love is going to overcome the bad,
Even if friends forget,
Even under the strongest of storms.
Know that love never fails
Because Christ is love and He never fails!
At the beginning of this year, stop! Take a few minutes to think about "How well do I love? How much of my love have I devoted to God and His Church? How much of my love have I devoted to my husband or wife and to my children? How much of my love have I devoted to the members of my church, my friends?"
I think that this deserves careful consideration. This can help us to change attitudes and redirect priorities.
God is a specialist on the subject of love. The Bible is full of beautiful statements that not only reveal a romantic and poetic side of God, as well as His interest in showing us that He is love. Love that never fails!
A new year! New opportunities! Today, the phrase "Love one another" acquires a more urgent tone. God expects us to live and reflect His love in the highest degree. Begin by:
- Loving more, through words, attitudes, and gestures.
- Expressing feelings of joy that
give vitality to relationships. - Supporting those who need it.
- Stimulating spiritual and emotional growth of your family.
- Listening more, judging less.
- Sharing words of hope and motivation.
- Forgiving.
- Praying more, communicating with the Source of true love.
- Learning better to walk in humility.
I know that you might be thinking that the ideas above are already part of those who love. But these are the expressions that, if put into practice, produce the most marvelous feelings in the world.
May the prayer of the Apostle Paul be our prayer also throughout this New Year:
"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:17-19).
May love strengthen us and make us become better individuals.
