There are some days people always remember. Some things you always remember. Valentine's Day is a day for both: A day to remember and a thing to remember. What am I jabbering about? Well, read on and see!
We all have special days that we remember. The day you got your favorite toy for Christmas. That special birthday party you had. The day you first accepted Christ. These days are special not because of the day itself, but because of what happened on that day or what the day means to you.
For many people, Valentine's Day is a special day. The world has marked February 14th as a day to show that special someone in your life that you love them, sometimes extending it out to all of our loved ones. Growing up, maybe you gave Valentine cards to a crush, or maybe you made cards for your whole family. When I was a kid, we made Valentine cards for my mom. She spent all of her time teaching us (yes, us Talbert kids were home schooled) so we made sure to give her extra attention on February 14th. But beyond that, I've never made anything on Valentine's Day. There hasn't been anyone there when Valentine's rolled around. Until this year.
This year I have Kaytlin. 23 years and I finally have someone special for Valentine's Day! For me, Valentine's has become a special day, one for me to remember (because, to be completely honest, she will be my only Valentine). A day among all the rest where I can show her just how much I love her. Now I'm sure we can all agree that we love our Valentines year round, we simply use February 14th as a day to go out of our way to show them how much they mean to us. And that reminded me of a special someone who loves us: Jesus.
Jesus has loved us every day since the creation of the world, He even loves us every day in our future. He came to Earth and showed us how much He loves each every one of us: the one day where He died on a cross, took on our sins, and was separated from God in our place. The most agonizing death ever to exist in the world (if you don't believe me on that one, check out Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ") and separation from His Father, the closest person in His life... why? Because He loves us. That's how far He went to save those He loves.
We are to show that same love to the people around us: to show God's love to the world. How does that look? Well, it means that you are willing to give up everything you have, even your life, so that God's will might be accomplished in someone else's life. And it's not just a one time thing, it's an everyday thing!
So this Valentine's Day, show love to that special someone in your life. But don't forget to show the love of God to them all year round. And as you're doing that, show God's love to the other people in your life too! Be willing to give from your life to help those around you, just as Christ would do. It will be hard, and you won't be able to do it on your own (that's why God gave us His Holy Spirit and prayer) but when you love as God loves, you'll get to see God work in people's lives.
There are some days people always remember. Some things you always remember. Let Valentine's Day be a day for both. The day to remember? When Christ died for you. The thing to remember? Love. The love of God shown to us, that we might show it to others.
Godspeed!
- Jason
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