Valentines Day

God’s Love and Ours: Straight from the Bible

 ^"7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

 ¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

   God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

 ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister" 

1 John 4: 7-21

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Let's face it. Our world is commercialized, materialistic, and fake. 

I have never really been a fan of valentines day. Mostly because it has always been some awkward, forced, fake day where men are coerced into spending way too much money and pressured beyond belief to come up with "the perfect day". Bear with me, I am not saying that if a man does something nice on February 14th that it is automatically fake. I just believe Valentines day is an overrated holiday. I'm not a cynic, just a true believer that God shows us love everyday, and we should do the same. The way we act and feel on "Valentines day" is the way we should act and feel everyday. 

God wants to be and should be our first love. 

He made us. One by one he designed us.

He loved us first, and continues to love us through out inequities.

He shows us how to love others. Unconditionally and constantly.

Valentines day is wonderful. I'm not saying it isn't. I'm just saying that instead of being some big pressurized, commercialized, materialistic day let it simply be a reminder of how much God truly loves us. When February 14th rolls around, skip Tiffany's (and save the money!), and truly revel in God's love for us and the love he allows us to feel for each other. Love is a gift. God loves us for free, and blesses us with the capacity to feel love for one another.

If you are single, don't hate valentines day. Soak up God's love for you and know how truly wonderful you are. A wonderful friend of mine had these thoughts on Valentines day last year as she welcomed a season of singleness...

"'I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.' Psalm 31:7. Jesus see's you. Your hurts, pains, and desires don't go unnoticed. Trust in His unfailing love to take you to the place he has planned for you. His plans are best!"

She is such a woman of God. 

Singleness can be a beautiful time when you truly appreciate the opportunity it offers.

Marriage can be truly phenomenal when we begin to understand what it is.

Keep Valentines day simple my friends. By all means, say I love you, be in a good mood, hug your loved ones, buy chocolate and flowers, but keep it simple. Don't let the world (and Satan) tell you that unless you have a dozen roses, a significant other, a diamond necklace, and an expensive, creative date that night, that February 14th is going to be awful for you. It doesn't have to be. My favorite way to think about it is this "What's February 14th? Well, in 2011 it's a Tuesday." It's just another day friends. Remember Jesus's love always and show love daily. Single, dating, engaged or married, Valentines day, and every day, is a beautiful opportunity to knows God's love.