Love is in the air! February brings about thoughts of flowers, chocolates, hearts and, most of all…love. That’s right…the “L” word! Valentine’s Day is typically responsible for engagements, lots of expensive dinners and the giving of gifts, but why do we celebrate love this way? Why do we link the word “love” with giving?
I believe this can be better understood by looking at a very famous and well known verse…John 3:16:
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
This verse is not only the foundation of the Gospel, but this verse also explains what “love” is. Love is the giving of or giving up of something for someone that you love. God loves His people so much that He wanted give us his Son, but it didn’t end there! He not only gave us his Son, but He gave up his Son, Jesus Christ, and led him to the cross to die for our sins. 1 John 4:10 also explains to us that God loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins
Just the same as we should love others and ourselves more than just one day a year, so should it be for loving Jesus. We don’t just save our love for Christ for Sunday mornings; rather we’re to express our love for Him every moment of every day with every word that comes out of our mouth, every thought that runs through our head, and every action we make. Obviously that’s a lot easier said then done, but God allows us to work through our mistakes and He is patient with us!
We don’t need Valentine’s Day to remember that Jesus loves us. My prayer is that you acknowledge that reality many times a day.
Grace and Peace,
Ryan