God's Valentine!

Today is Valentine’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate love, especially romantic love. Of course, we can celebrate the love between friends or siblings or parents and their children. But we all pretty much know that the day is really focused on the love between a man and a woman who, when they look into each other’s eyes, feel that so-called “spark of love.” It’s a day for flowers and chocolates, and maybe an excuse for a little added romance. For those who are in that kind of relationship it can be a really nice day.  Thus, today I will in some small ways celebrate the love I experience in my relationship with my wife, Kim who is for sure, my valentine! 

I am keenly aware, however, that for others this may be a day to mourn the fact that they’ve lost a love or maybe never had what is called by some, a “true love.” For them, a day like this can be a very hard day as they wonder what happened to the “love of their life,” why they haven’t found their “true love,” and wonder whether or not they ever will. Yes, Valentine’s Day can be quite difficult for some. 

I think that all of this points us to the fact that, in the end Valentine’s Day highlights our yearning for love. One podcast I listened to recently, noted how many popular songs, especially those that come from what is called, “The American Songbook” reflect such a yearning—most often for a love that could not be found or a love that has been lost.  After all that has been and is the situation so many people have faced throughout the years.  Thus again, for many people today can be for many a bit of a difficult day.  

I want to remind us all, however, whether or not we have a “true love” in our lives, ultimately we have all received the greatest symbol of love that has ever and will ever be given. The Bible says, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10 – NIV)  Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13) And that is exactly what he has done for us. 

Without downplaying the joys of romantic love, I want to remind us that there is a love that is far deeper than the kind of love that expresses itself in a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates. True love is defined by God, for “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) And his love is one that never fades, nor is ever lost. His love has expressed itself through much more than flowers and chocolates, but through the giving of his only Son as the sacrifice for our sins. His love is an eternal love, a love that “never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:8) And, it’s a love that fills the deepest voids of our hearts and souls, reminding us that we have all been given a “true love.” 

So whether or not you are in a romantic relationship, today would be a really good day to thank God for his love at work in your life. It’s a good day to pause and remember the greatest gift of love ever given, the gift of God’s Son, Jesus. We might even say, you are God’s Valentine! 

Have a great day! 

- Pastor Tim Harris