Ahhh, Valentine’s Day. The Day of Love. Some of us love it because it’s the day devoted to showering our significant other with sweet nothings. Some of us like it because the good chocolate is on sale the day after. And then there are others or us, who hate it. I know some in that camp refer to it as Single’s Awareness Day. But, no matter which side of the fence you’re on, Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to be reminded to spread the love of Christ.
Here are 3 ways you can share love with others this Valentine’s season (and, let’s be honest, any season!):
1. Serve others
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I like to say “once you receive salvation, your life is no longer about you.” Friend, oh how true that is. Our lives, as Christians, are meant to be a living testimony of Jesus Christ. To show others His goodness and His love.
If you’ve checked out Genuine Christianity by Justin Miller, you’ll know that he mentioned several times in his book about the good works of Christians. No, good works don’t save a person. But, good works do come about when someone accepts Jesus into their hearts.
Why?
Because the love of Christ is too good to keep bottled up and not share with others.
Matthew 20:28 tells us, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
If we are to be Christ-like, we, too, need to serve others. And there are many ways we can do that. See someone that needs help loading their groceries? Offer them a hand. Do you know anyone in a nursing home or other facility that needs a little extra help? Give some of your time and go help them.
Find creative ways to serve others and I can almost guarantee you’ll be sharing the Gospel in the process.
2. Be a listening ear
Be honest, how many of us have just needed someone to listen to us when we had a problem? Not someone to stop us halfway through telling our story and fill us full of (sometimes not so) helpful advice. But, just a kind, listening ear without judgement?
My hand is high in the air.
Friend, we all need people like that in our lives. Someone we can have a heart to heart talk with. Someone we can share our troubles with because we know that person cares for us. And someone we can trust to tell our heartaches to and know for certain our heartaches won’t be spread to everyone else’s ears.
The love of Christ is too good to keep bottled up and not share with others. Click To TweetYou, friend, can be that person for someone else. Sometimes, all we really need is to know that we’ve been heard.
You can be the ears that hear and gently and lovingly point someone back to the Cross.
3. Pray for others
There’s a note I have written in my Bible near 1 Peter 1:22 that says “nothing proves you love someone more than mentioning them in your prayers.“
Friend, this love doesn’t mean romantic love. But, it means the love for others that compels us to care about the state of their soul and their circumstances.
1 Peter 1:22 says, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.“
Showing someone you love them really is as simple as praying for them and taking their needs before the Lord.
Friend, sometimes, that even means praying the difficult prayers. You know, the ones that, if answered in a certain way, would upset your friend, but would also protect and benefit them in the end.
Spread the love to others by being willing to pray for all things– both easy and hard.
Maybe this Valentine’s Day isn’t as romantic as you hoped for (or maybe it is?). But, if you look around, there is love everywhere. Love that can be received. Love from Christ that is freely given. And opportunities to love one another just as Christ loves us.
Choose to be the light and spread the love and the Good News of Christ this season.
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Thoughts?