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Weekly Devotional – A box of chocolates




Weekly Devotional - A box of chocolates

Weekly Devotional – A box of chocolates

Happy Valentine’s Day or, as some of my unmarried friends humorously call it, ‘Singles Awareness Day.’ 

For those without a significant other, it really can be a depressing day.  Many do have that special someone and that in itself might present unique challenges.  The desire for true love and companionship sends us down many paths.  People are happy, miserable, unloved, loved, lonely, fulfilled, searching, wanting and everything in between.

Thankfully, we serve a God who grants us amazing love through His Son, whether single or “happily ever after till death do us part.”  Jesus’ love, active in our lives, provides the hope to which we embrace. 

Everyone knows that Valentine’s Day thrives on candy, gifts, and yes, chocolate.  Do you happen to know the brand your special someone might prefer?  I’ll extend a pro tip to all of you guys out there: don’t go cheap. Marketplace endcaps give us a variety of sizes, brands and flavors, yet all chocolates are not all created equal.  A well-known thought regarding the delectable goodies came from one Forrest Gump: “My mama always said life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” 

Mr. Gump provides some thought provoking truth.  Life really is like a box of chocolates with a lot of unknowns, not all of which are pleasant. (Side note:  I’m not a fan of the chocolates with the pink stuff inside.)  Yes, we live in a world tainted by sin where struggle and heartache abound.  Undoubtedly, blessings abound as well.  But the certain reality of affliction concerns us on a fairly regular basis.  For this reason, we find true hope in the love and grace of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 13 famously declares amazing realities of love.  In fact, many of you probably had the passage read at your wedding.  In the “love” chapter, Paul speaks of love being patient and kind.  It is not jealous, boastful, or arrogant.  In 1 Cor. 13:8, Paul states that “Love never fails.”  Verse 13 attests, “Faith, hope, and love remain; but the greatest of these is love.”  

Interestingly, Greek culture communicates four separate manifestations of love.  These four ideas derive in four Greek words:  philea, eros, storge, and agapePhilea encompasses a friendship love.  You might think Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love.  Eros incorporates an intimate, romantic love.  Storge involves familial love, containing an affectionate bond that develops naturally between parents and children and brothers and sisters.

 However, none of these expressions of love hold the weight of agape.  Paul lauds this highest form of love in 1 Corinthians 13.  A pure, unconditional, and sacrificial love such as this originates only in God Himself.  Agape love fills empty and dead hearts with sustaining peace and empowering grace. God loves us in this special way.  To be sure, Jesus’ love in us also fuels our ability to display authentic love to others. (1 John 4:7-8)  Most notably, the abiding follower of Christ finds soul saving rest and life in His love alone.

You see, life comes at us from all directions.  We really don’t know what tomorrow holds, or “what we are going to get.”  Yet if we know Jesus, we know who holds tomorrow.  The sustaining agape love of Jesus grants us access into a relationship with a Savior who provides an all-powerful love.  The working of this love saves those who trust in Him.  “For God so loved (agapao) the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  Jesus’ agape love throws the entire “box of chocolate” theory right out of the window.  When Jesus is life, the mystery unfolds.  Indeed, with Jesus, we know what we get.  We get a love that never fails. 

Ashley Mofield, First Baptist Church White House.

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