Genuine Love
It rained again today - on Valentine’s Day! Luca is shaggy. In and out, in and out, and he needs to be dried off each and every time. And I am getting sick of it.
It’s Valentine’s Day, and I am grumpy.
My Valentine and I have danced this dance thirty-six times together. Our first date was on Valentine’s 1987. No other Valentine’s for me since Cupid's arrow pierced my heart. On this night, thirty-six years later, I’ve cooked a decent dinner, and he is working on a home project. And Luca is going in and out, in and out, and tracking wet puppy paws and leaves and mud all over my kitchen.
After we eat and the kitchen is clean, I decide to pick up my prayer journal that I usually complete before bed, expecting the rest of the evening to hold at least something more special - like a rom-com on Netflix or a nice bubble bath. Where did your mind go? I told you Jeff was working on a home project, and I’m not about to interrupt that honey do!
Right as I sit with my lovely mug of Sweet Cinnamon Spice Tea, Luca’s nose peaks over the back door window, and I see the tell tale muddy paw print signature. I put the tea back in the microwave and grab the paw squeegee - yes that is a real thing on Amazon - and block my house from an extremely hyper pup. Did he find a secret Valentine’s chocolate stash? A bath for me now becomes a bath for Luca.
When I grumpily return to my journal, of course the scripture for the day is about love. Why wouldn’t it be…and Luca starts barking to go back outside. I may kill him. No way I allow free access to more mud wallowing, so I grab the leash, and he thinks it’s go time! What a fiasco. After all the kerfuffle, and I actually read the scripture, I get even grumpier.
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.
Romans 12:10 NLT
Because no one should really walk away from scripture annoyed, stopping to take time to digest the entire chapter between Luca’s pacing and barking developed into the next order of business.
Wow! Romans 12 contains so much good substance that I examined multiple translations and looked up several words in the Greek. I love the Bible Hub App because the features allow the user to place texts side by side and to easily translate words into the original language. Commentaries on the scriptures are also available. I tuned out Luca for a bit and simply focused on God’s word. I settled on the New Living Translation for these verses because this particular translation of the Bible emphasizes the emotional intent behind the original texts, and what is Valentine’s Day about other than emotions?
Although the verse of the day compels, the next verse punches me in the gut.
Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Romans 12:11 NLT
That’s when I realized that genuine affection doesn’t happen as often as we would like to think. Honoring each other may not always be very delightful. Loving and honoring requires hard work and let’s face the facts, I’m lazy. How often is my affection simply not genuine?
The word used for genuine affection here is philadelphos or brotherly love; love for your brethren. Think about words that originate from this Greek term. Philadelphia - city of brotherly love; philanthropy - the practice of performing charity; philosophy - the study of the principles of beliefs, values, knowledge, and truth; you get the idea. Important concepts contain the root word philos. But the American obsession with being genuine is the opposite of being fake. We want the original. The official. The 24-carat. No knock offs here. The absolute, bona fides. But it’s getting harder and harder to tell what’s real and what’s not these days. Ordering an item from the internet and the actual reality of the product can be two extremely different things.
Of course Luca smiles and obediently sits still while I use his paw squeegee (insert hilarious belly laugh here!)
But you know what doesn’t change?
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8
Now that verse is the same in ANY translation!!!
So on this day of love 2023, my pup reminds me that genuine affection is not lazy. No knock off love here but the 24-carat, authentic, official thing. Paws get washed, and honey dos get completed, and we take delight in one another, because we try to love as our father first loved us even if that means we get grumpy sometimes.
As you go about the rest of your week, take away this Lesson from Luca and work hard on being genuine in your love for those you encounter and take delight in honoring one another too! Remember your brothers and sisters aren't the ones who are the easiest to love, they are also the ones with the muddy paws. Just ask Luca!
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