It's been a while since I blogged. I probably shouldn't be blogging right now, given my oral exam in less than a week, but given the Valentine's Day season, I couldn't resist writing down my thoughts on some of the more interesting ideas of love circulating these days.
I received an email almost a week ago from Barnes & Noble making the claim which I decided to use as the title of this post. It caught my eye for a couple of reasons. First, I'm always interested in new ideas for making my special lady feel extra special. Not that I have much hope in getting those ideas from B&N, but who knows. Second, 10% off, while not a huge deal, is at least enough to make me process the whole email subject before sending it to the trash. And then, after I did that, it struck me that this was a very, very interesting statement.
It struck me again this afternoon as I was in Starbucks with my labmates. The weeks-old chalk-board advertisement for caramel macchiatos had been replaced with a new chalkboard advertisement for Starbucks' own brand of instant coffee, VIA. The chalkboard had a sketch of a woman embracing the many packets of VIA which presumably had been given to her by her valentine. At the bottom was the tagline: "give love in an instant."
So why did I find these so profound? In all honesty, it is sort of difficult to take too much from them in terms of societal values, because it must be remembered that these companies are trying to sell their products, and have little interest in what true love really is. They are trying to instantly satisfy their quota for sales by telling their customers that love is something that can be had instantly and for a discounted price.
But what is love? The Apostle John tells us that love actually has nothing to do with anything that we do. "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." Can you imagine a God who loves us only so much as to give us 90% (or less), or a God who simply solves all the world's problems in an instant? Sure, 90% of God is still a whole lot. But do you think Jesus would have died if he didn't have to? Do you think Jesus would have completely emptied Himself and become nothing if he could have gotten away with an easier solution? What would have happened if, in Gethsemane, God had said to Jesus' prayer to have the cup of suffering taken from him, "Alright, Son, you've given 90%. That's all these people are worth, anyway. You don't have to go to the cross."? But love is costly, and God gave 100%.
And it didn't happen in an instant. God's salvation plan began before the creation of the world, saw its first foreshadowing in the moments immediately after the Fall, when God covered Adam and Eve, began to manifest itself when a nomad named Abram was brought out of the land of the Chaldeans, was heralded to the world when Israel marched out of Egypt under the banner of the LORD, and finally, 1500 years later, came near when Jesus was born and began preach repentance and the forgiveness of sins. And don't you think they could have at least killed Jesus faster? If you've seen The Passion of the Christ, you have an idea of what I'm talking about. They beat him, whipped him, scourged him, placed thorns on his head, and finally, as if that hadn't taken long enough, hung him from a cross and waited for him to expire from asphyxiation. That movie would have been much more bearable if they had opted for a neat and quick beheading.
God's manifestation of His love for us is not instant - though it would certainly be nice if some of those blessings would come sooner rather than later - and it is not 10% off - though, once again, it would be nice if we in turn weren't called to give 100% of ourselves as well. This is what Paul meant when he said husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church.
There's nothing wrong with saving some money on Valentine's Day. But don't be afraid to splurge either, and to let her know that there isn't a thing you wouldn't give up for her sake. After all, Jesus gave up everything, and nothing says "LOVE" like Jesus.
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