As I write this, it is Valentine’s Day. And men and women everywhere are scrambling to pick up last-minute cards, gifts, flowers, and candy. Dinner reservations have been made. Babysitters lined up. All because the calendar says it’s February 14. I’m a pretty low maintenance person so my husband is lucky. Bring me a sub for dinner so I don’t have to cook and I’m a happy camper. And if you throw in a sappy Hallmark movie, well even better.
Valentine’s Day is a commercial boom. In 2022, Americans spent $23.9 billion, according to a National Retail Federation survey. On one day. And in recent years, Valentine’s Day has expanded beyond sweethearts to friends. There are Galantine celebrations held all over the country. And more money is spent on material tokens of love. On one day.
I don’t have anything against Valentine’s Day. I really don’t. What strikes me as sad is that we put so much effort into showing people how much we love them on February 14 only to take them for granted on February 15. A date on the calendar shouldn’t be what drives us to be generous with our love.
Thank goodness we serve a God who loves us every day. He doesn’t need a special day to shower us with gifts. He does that every morning as He blesses us with his mercies. He gifts us spectacular sunrises and breathtaking sunsets. He showers us with life-giving rainfall and puddles to splash in. He paints landscapes of red, orange, and golden yellow every fall. He plays the music of the ocean waves and the bird songs so that we might hear His great love for us.
And on one day, centuries ago, He gave us the ultimate valentine – Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Our Father in Heaven gave His most precious possession so that we would be forgiven and saved. That beats a sub and hallmark movie.
And as extravagant as that gift is, I want you to consider this. The one sacrificed – Jesus – did so willingly because His love for you was so great. His heart so full that He could not imagine living in eternity without you. He wasn’t dragged to the cross. He walked carrying the burden of our sin. He wasn’t thrown kicking and screaming to the cross, He lay down and stretched out His arms. He didn’t ball up his hands into fists, He opened them to the nails. The ultimate gift of love. The life-changing, overwhelming love of our Savior. One day for all days.
“We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19). Had we not received the love of our Father through the sacrifice of Jesus, we would not be able to experience real love. And there are those who do not know Jesus; they do not know the depth and breadth of love available to them. They know only worldly love that is too often wrought with conditions or price tags.
As you read this, another Valentine’s Day will be behind us. Flowers will die. Candy will be eaten. Cards thrown away and forgotten. But the love of your Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ will live in and through you each and every day. If you choose to embrace it. If you choose to see it. If you choose to share it.
The greatest valentine you can give someone is to tell them about Jesus. Tell them there is a savior who loves them so much that when He lay down on a cross centuries ago, they were on His mind and in His heart. Tell them that He wants nothing more than to live with them forever. To love them forever. To carry them and dance with them through this life and beyond. To be their first and last love. And maybe next year at this time, your Valentine’s gift to others will be the life-saving grace of Jesus Christ.
I challenge you to love every day with the enthusiasm and effort of Valentine’s Day. And to never forget the One who loved you first.