teaching about love

Tonight, the kids and I went to choose Valentines for their friends.  Gavin chose 3-D dinosaur cards, while Brynn chose Hello Kitty.  They carried their boxes of cards around the entire store, and proudly showed them to the cashier, who pretended to be enthusiastic enough to suffice. 

Brynn carried her box of Valentines to the car, chatted to it and about it the entire way home, carried it into the house, sat down on the couch with it, and only then proceeded to ask me, "Mommy, what is a Valentine?"

I realized that she was so caught up in the concept of the charcter on the front that she didn't understand the 'why'.  I explained to Brynn that we give Valentines to people that we love, or care a lot about.  She nodded, but wasn't sure if she really understood. 

Now that the kids are sleeping, I'm thinking about how it is that we teach our kids about love.  We say "I love you" to our kids often, many times daily.  They'll say it on their own, not just as a response to our statement.  But, do they really know what love means?  I'd like to think they do, based on the way the kids act and the way they treat others.

These four passages in the Bible confirm that as our children grow and learn about life and love, that we are seeking the right way in which to go about it.  They do recognize love, they know what love means as much as we can ask a nearly 6 and 4 year old to understand love.  And, so long as we continue to use these four standards to reinforce the comprehension of love, then I am confident in a few years time, Brynn won't care who is on the box of her Valentines.

Luke 5:13 ... Teach love through contact
John 21:15-17 ... Teach love by example
John 1:3-5 .. Teach love through conceptualization
Romans 12: 19-21 ... Teach love through practice