Today is Valentine’s Day. This is the day we celebrate love. We are asked what love is, and we have difficulty answering that question.

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV

Yes, this is from The Bible. Do you believe what Paul says in this passage? Is love really that important? The question remains, “What is love?” It is not a feeling or an emotion. Say it with me, “I love you.” I am a word nerd. Break the sentence down. I is the subject, you is the object, Love is the verb.

Let’s let Paul define it for us. First Corinthians goes on in the fourth verse, “⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails.” NIV

Get it? This is the kind of love that Yahweh God has for us. The Greek word is Agape. You are probably thinking of another Greek word that we translate as love, Eros. Our word erotic comes from that word. It is not what most of us want when we think of love on Valentine’s Day.

We want our valentine to cherish us, care more about us than anyone else does. Those of us who are married wanted that on our wedding day. For some of us, it did not last. Are you in love with your spouse as much as you were on that day?

I must confess that I am not. Today, I am more in love with Cindy than I was fifty years ago. Many of you have not lived for fifty years. Our daughters have not. Does that surprise you that we were married before we had children? For celebrities and other influencers now, this is not the norm. It was for us and our parents and grandparents.

You decided that this person was the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. You did not move in with them or spend the night or the weekend. You said, “I do,” and you meant it and kept your promise. We agreed to stay together in sickness and in health, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, and we have.

It hasn’t been easy. Love is hard work. “Love is a choice.” Read the book. Not just the one by that name, but the one I mentioned earlier. Read the Bible. That is where I find my answers. You can as well. You must read it to see them. Or you can follow and subscribe here, and I will continue to share what I have read from it. The choice is yours.

©Copyright 2026 by Charles Kensinger