Happy Valentine's Day, Dear Reader!!!
And, since this is an ancient holiday bearing the name of a Catholic saint, hitting this year on Sunday (which lots of us celebrate as the Sabbath), I thought we might find some inspiration in the Holy Bible and what the scriptures have to say about love. It all its various forms -- agape, eros, philia, storge ....
From Nave's Topical Concordance, here are some of the entries under "LOVE" that are provided, with their scriptural references (which you can look up and read in various translations and/or languages at the Bible Gateway):
LOVE:
INSTANCES OF » Abraham for Lot (Genesis 14:14-16)
INSTANCES OF » Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz (Ruth 1;;)
INSTANCES OF » David's subjects (2 Samuel 15:30;17:27-29)
INSTANCES OF » Obadiah for the prophets (1 Kings 18:4)
INSTANCES OF » Jehoshabeath for Joash (2 Chronicles 22:11)
INSTANCES OF » Nehemiah for Israelites (Nehemiah 5:10-15)
INSTANCES OF » Mordecai for Esther (Esther 2:7)
INSTANCES OF » Job's friends (Job 42:11)
INSTANCES OF » Centurion for his servant (Luke 7:2-6)
INSTANCES OF » Roman Christians for Paul (Acts 28:15)
INSTANCES OF LOVE FOR JESUS » Mary (Matthew 26:6-13; John 12:3-8; Luke 10:39)
INSTANCES OF LOVE FOR JESUS » Peter (Matthew 17:4; John 13:37;18:10;20:3-6;21:7)
INSTANCES OF LOVE FOR JESUS » Thomas ( John 11:16)
INSTANCES OF LOVE FOR JESUS » The disciples (Mark 16:10; Luke 24:17-41; John 20:20)
INSTANCES OF LOVE FOR JESUS » A man from Gadara (Gerasa) out of whom Jesus cast an evil spirit (Mark 5:18)
INSTANCES OF LOVE FOR JESUS » Joseph of Aramathaea (Matthew 27:57-60)
ONSTANCES OF LOVE FOR JESUS » Nicodemus ( John 19:39,40)
INSTANCES OF LOVE FOR JESUS » Women of Jerusalem (Luke 23:27)
OF CHILDREN FOR PARENTS » See CHILDREN
OF MONEY » The root of evil (1 Timothy 6:10)
OF MAN FOR GOD (Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10;6:5;7:9;10:12;11:1,13,22;)
OF MAN FOR JESUS (Matthew 10:37,38;25:34-40;27:55-61; Mark 9:41; Luke 2:29)
OF MAN FOR MAN (Leviticus 19:18,34; Deuteronomy 10:19; Psalms 133:1-3; Proverbs 10:12;15:1)
EXEMPLIFICATION OF THE LOVE OF MAN FOR MAN (Exodus 32:31,32; Psalms 133:1-3; Proverbs 24:17,18; Matthew 5:41,42;)
And for those who don't know, the Holy Bible has been translated into many different languages from the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic in which its letters, histories, proverbs, psalms, prophecies, etc. were written. Then, within these different languages, there are different translations - the Catholics have their Roman Vulgate, the traditional Protestants their King James, other Christians may prefer the New American Standard, the Message Bible, the Amplified, you get the idea. I always find that you get a lot from reading the same verse in different Bibles, different nuances that give you more to ponder.
Isn't it great that there's a day when we stop and celebrate LOVE? How can this be a bad thing, particularly when chocolate seems to be so prevalent?
PS What to really delve into the topic of Love? I'd suggest picking up a copy of C.S. Lewis's The Four Loves. He's given it lots of thought, and shares it all with us in a nice little book.
