Greater love hath no one. ….Love one another
 February is often called the month of love. Right in the middle is Valentine's Day, a day specially set aside for people to declare their love, one for another. More roses are sold at this time than any other time of the year.
Take a moment and think about the power of love. We will do things we would rather not, all in the name of love. People will sacrifice huge amounts of time and energy simply because they love someone. It is said that love is the greatest power on the face of the earth.
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The Bible is full of reminders of how greatly God loves us. It begins with Genesis and God creating a perfect world filled with everything we might need. When the world rejected God's ways and God destroyed the world by water, God saved a remnant and from that a new world was created. The symbol of God's love was the rainbow. There are countless narratives of God's love told by the prophets, who again and again called the people back into relationship with God.
Naturally, the greatest example of God's love was his willingness to send his Son, Jesus, to live among us. Through his teachings, healings, in small groups and in large groups, Jesus was in every way God's love with arms and warmth. Time and time again, Jesus told us to love one another.
How do you love the people around you? It is easy to love those who are like us. We have no problem loving those who act lovingly to us. But what about the difficult people in our lives? How about the people we might even consider enemies because they work against the very things we cherish? Are we able to love our neighbors and our enemies?
This month, make an extra effort to love the difficult people in your lives. Remember, no matter how much they might drive you crazy, they too are children of God and precious in his sight. When their mannerisms and little ticks make you want to grab them by the collar and shake them until their teeth rattle, take a deep breath and remember that you also do things that drive others crazy. No one is perfect. You are not perfect; only God is perfect. Love is not easy but the rewards of living a life of love are everlasting.
With deepest affection and true love,
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