True love is a choice worth celebrating every day …

Early this morning, I was listening to a sports talk radio show when a caller posed a question to the two co-hosts: “If you had to choose, would you pick true love or endless money?”

Of course, since it was a public show with a national audience, both hosts ultimately chose love, though they briefly considered the money. Yet, I imagine some listeners were saying to themselves, “But with endless money, you can buy love!”

No, you can’t.

Oh, you can buy attention. Perhaps you can buy a version of admiration. You can even buy companionship. But you can’t buy true love. Love that is purchased isn’t love at all, it’s a transaction, an exchange of goods or favors, not a genuine connection of the heart.

This happens to be one of the profound reasons why God created us with free will. He could have made us robotic, programmed to love Him without question or choice. But love that isn’t freely given isn’t love at all, is it? Love requires the ability to choose. And God wanted true love.

So He gave us the freedom to accept or reject Him, to follow Him or walk away. And in return, He demonstrated true love to us in the greatest way possible: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life,” John 3:16. That is love — sacrificial, self-giving, and without price.

Love is so valuable, in fact, that Christ made it His command to us: “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you,” John 15:12. The world often reduces love to a feeling, a fleeting emotion that comes and goes. But Jesus defined love through action. He loved us to the point of giving His life.

A worthwhile part of having “Valentine’s Day” — a day emphasizing love — is to pause for a moment and look at how our lives are blessed by some who have chosen, by an act of their free will, to love us. And, if we’re wise, to also take some time to look at the many opportunities God gives us to freely love so many … if only we would.

Valentine’s Day gives us the opportunity to reflect on love as a true and lasting choice. It’s a reminder that love, the kind that matters, isn’t a feeling that fades with the day. It’s a daily act of giving and receiving, often unnoticed, yet profoundly meaningful. So today, as we acknowledge the love we’ve been given, let’s also embrace the chance to love others with the same intention, not just today, but every day. True love is always a choice. And that’s worth celebrating.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Scotty