The Real Valentine's Day!

I know many of us just celebrated Valentine’s Day with cards, candy, flowers—maybe even a candlelight dinner.  That’s pretty much what St. Valentine’s Day has been turned into; it’s become an excuse for a little bit of romance.  But, did you know the day is named after a real person? He was a third century leader in the church who was martyred for his faith.  

The stories surrounding St. Valentine are many. What we do know is that, he lived during one of the most immoral periods within the Roman Empire.  Sexual promiscuity was rampant. And, at one point The Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage so that men wouldn’t have an excuse not to go to war.  (Newly married men would not join the army to fight; some say such was Roman law.) St. Valentine, however, not only preached the gospel and led people to Christ, he then performed secret weddings for these new believers.  Eventually, St. Valentine was arrested for breaking the law. 

St. Valentine - A Third Century Bishop

One story says, as St. Valentine stood before his jailer and judge, he began to preach the gospel to him. The man responded by saying, “If what you say is indeed true, I want you to prove it.”  Valentine laid his hand on the judge’s adopted daughter who was blind and immediately she was healed!  However, although the judge may have converted to Christianity, the Emperor eventually called for the death of Valentine.  We are told that, just before his death, St. Valentine wrote a letter to the little girl who had been healed and signed it, “Your Valentine.”  St. Valentine was beheaded on February 14, 269 AD because he refused to renounce his faith in Christ.  

Now that doesn’t sound like a very romantic story to me!  However, it is a story that is filled with love. It’s the story of a man who had come to experience the incredible love of his Savior, Jesus Christ—the One who had loved him all the way to the point of death on a cross!  It’s the story of a man who, in return so loved his Savior that he was willing to die for that love. St. Valentine was willing to be martyred for his faith because he had come to understand the incredible love of God shown for him through the death of God’s Son, Jesus. 

The Apostle John wrote, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1 John 3:16 – NIV)  Jesus said, ^“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13 – NIV) 

I surely don’t mind a little romance complete with cards, flowers, and candlelight dinners. But I’m reminded that real love goes far beyond an evening of romance. Real love is wrapped up in all that God has done for us through Jesus. And, real love will always cost us something, if not our lives. Like St. Valentine, let’s live our lives as examples of that love, loving God with all our hearts and loving one another as he has loved us.  That makes for a real Valentine’s Day!

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris