Valentine's Day checklist

Pastor Rick Koole

It’s February, the month we pause to celebrate “Valentine’s Day,” a day when we are reminded about the importance of loving one another. I still remember those crazy days in elementary school and the annual ritual of swapping valentines with all the other students.

I’ve been privileged to do hundreds of weddings during my career as a pastor. During the ceremony, the couple will exchange vows to love each other till death do them part. And often during the ceremony, I have turned to I Corinthians 13, the “Love Chapter” of the Bible, to remind the bride and the groom what true love between a man and a woman should really look like and to challenge them to love each other according to God’s definition of love.

The “love chapter” begins by declaring that you can have a lot going for you; however, if love is missing, you are indeed a sad person. And next it gives us an incredible checklist of the actual characteristics of true love. Following is the checklist. See how you do.

Love is patient; Love is kind; Love does not envy; Love does not boast; Love is not proud; Love does not dishonor others; Love is not self-seeking; Love is not easily angered; Love keeps no record of wrongs; Love does not delight in evil; Love rejoices with the truth; Love always protects; Love always trusts; Love always hopes; Love always perseveres; Love never fails.

I could write a column on each of the 16 characteristics but, space not permitting, let me just encourage you this Valentine’s Day to at least focus on “Love is Kind.” Chuck Swindoll tackled that phrase and compiled the following suggestions of random acts of kindness.

Look up a forgotten friend.

Write a note of appreciation to someone in the church.

Hug someone and tell them you love them.

Forgive an enemy.

Encourage a child.

Keep a promise to your spouse.

Bake some cookies for someone.

Spend an hour listening to a lonely person.

Speak kindly to a stranger.

Smile at people for a day.

Take a leisurely walk with a friend.

Apologize for a wrong.

Talk with the TV off.

Volunteer to do the dishes.

Treat someone to an ice cream cone.

Pray for someone new.

Fix breakfast Saturday morning.

Buy someone flowers.

Encourage a lonely widow or widower.

Visit someone new in the hospital.

Invite someone to share dessert with you after church Sunday evening.

Tell a person what you most appreciate about them.

Offer to babysit for a weary mother.

Make a meal for a family with illness.

Sometimes one of the sweetest acts of kindness is just being present when someone is going through a time of heartbreak. Words may not even be necessary.

The story is told of a little girl who lost her best playmate in a tragic death. She came home one day and reported to her family that she had gone to comfort the sorrowing mother.

“What did you say?” asked her father.

“Nothing,” she replied, “I just climbed up on her lap and cried with her.”

Well, Valentine’s Day is approaching. Let me challenge you to find an opportunity to demonstrate true love by searching for a way to perform a random act of kindness as evidence of your love for others.