How do you say, "I love you?"

How do you say “I love you?” I know it may sound super sappy or cliché with Valentine’s Day around the corner, but just bare with me for a moment. This week I was talking to a friend of mine who hates Valentine’s Day, completely despises the holiday, and no its not because she’s single and bitter. She’s married to a wonderful Godly man and it’s so sweet to watch their love for one another grow. The pure motivation behind her dislike stems from a day when people feel obligated to tell one another in different ways how much they mean to one another.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on Valentine’s Day. I actually love setting aside a day to tell the people who matter most in your life how much you love and appreciate them. However, her comment has been rolling around in my head lately, and I can’t help but wonder why we wait for one day a year to be super thoughtful, romantic, and just love others. Shouldn’t that be our mantra every day? Especially for a disciple of Christ?

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

So I ask again, how do you say, "I love you?" Is it with a romantic dinner and flowers one night a year, or graciously forgiving one another when words are not as flowery as a dozen red roses? Is it with a card or phone call to a loved one on February 14 or falling on your face before God in the middle of the night for that lost loved one? Do you say I love you with a compassionate heart for orphans or do you take the gospel to those orphans and introduce them to the same Father you have, adopted by grace? Love deeply, dear friends. Love when it is costly. Love often. Love because you have first been loved!