Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. During my single years, Valentine’s Day was hard. I did have a few friends who made it easier, just by kindly remembering me on that day. Friends from Seminary, Don and Denise, made one lonely Valentine’s Day very memorable. They showed up with a bouquet of flowers for me. I’ll never forget how special that gesture made me feel. It was kind of them to sacrifice time and effort to think of me. That really is the Biblical definition of love, to be self-sacrificing for the benefit of another. On this Valentine’s Day I wanted to take a closer look into what has happened in our culture, where the true meaning of love has been highjacked. Let’s reclaim the true meaning of love! Finding true love on Valentine’s Day may be easier than you know!
Redefining Words
I recently watched a webinar with Elizabeth Urbanowicz titled, “Pursuing Truth In A Culture That Redefines Words.” It’s worth your time to hear what she has to say about teaching your children to think carefully about the meaning of words. Children need our help to navigate a world where words like love, faith, justice and tolerance have been highjacked. Urbanowicz goes into more detail in the webinar about these three steps to help you reclaim the true meaning of words:
- Be intentional and expose your children to different definitions of words.
- Ask your child, “How is this word being used?”
- Discuss how our understanding of words impacts our worldview.
I’ve been meaning to do an entire blog post on Elizabeth Urbanowicz and her curriculum, but that will need to wait for another day. Suffice it to say, her resources are excellent and very thought provoking for parents and children! The curriculum she offers teaches children to think! Her methods help children critically evaluate what they are learning in the public school setting. So if you are a parent trying to teach a solid Christian Worldview at home, her resources would be extremely helpful. You can find her at foundationworldview.com. I highly recommend these resources!
Love Redefined
Now, back to finding true love on Valentine’s Day. You’ve all seen the “Love is Love” yard signs popping up in your neighborhoods. And I think most of us realize that these yard signs are making a political statement. But let’s stop for a minute and ask the question, what do your children think when they see these signs? You may want to ask them, their answers might surprise you! What culture is telling them is that love means anything from infatuation and sexual expression to agreement and making others feel good even if it means ignoring the truth. But what does the Bible tell us love really means? We don’t have to look very far. John 15:13 puts it this way, “No one has greater love than the one who gives their life for their friends.” Here we find the Biblical definition of true love – self-sacrificing for the benefit of others.
Distinguishing the Truth
Self-sacrifice has been out of vogue for a long time. Culture says we should look out for our own interests above the interests of others, but the Bible teaches the direct opposite of this. You can easily expose the differences between a secular worldview and a Christian worldview by talking to your children about biblical principals. It’s important for them to understand that the truth is what is real. And they need to know that the Bible is our source of truth. You may want to get the conversation started by looking at the following verses and asking a few questions:
John 15:13 and 1 John 3:16
“No one has greater love than the one who gives their life for their friends.” and “We know what love is because Jesus Christ gave his life for us.”
- How is love defined in these verses?
- What evidence to we have that Jesus loves us?
Philippians 2:3-5
“Don’t do anything only to get ahead. Don’t do it because you are proud. Instead, be humble. Value others more than yourselves. None of you should look out just for your own good. Each of you should also look out for the good of others. As you deal with one another, you should think and act as Jesus did.”
- Practically speaking, in what ways can you look out for the good of others?
- How can you value someone even when you disagree with them?
Ephesians 4:14-15
“We will no longer be babies in the faith. We won’t be like ships tossed around by the waves. We won’t be blown here and there by every new teaching. We won’t be blown around by cleverness and tricks. Certain people use them to hide their evil plans. Instead, we will speak the truth in love.”
- What do people use to hide the truth?
- From this verse, what is the best way to tell the truth?
- Can you describe a time when you knew an idea was not true? What did you do?
- What is more important making someone feel good or telling them the truth?
Finding True Love
I’ll close out this post by quoting 1 Timothy 2:4-7 – “God wants all people to be saved. He wants them to come to know the truth. There is only one God. And there is only one go-between for God and human beings. He is the man Christ Jesus. He gave himself to pay for the sins of all people.” Here we see that God wants all of us to know the truth and to be saved. That salvation comes through God’s son, Jesus. Finding true love on Valentine’s Day starts with understanding this truth. In celebration of true love, I’ve created a FREE coloring book printable that you can use with your children. Each coloring page has a memory verse related to the true meaning of love. I hope your children will have fun learning while they color!
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