Be my Valentine . . .

Picture taken from www.jolietdowntown.com

It’s that time of year again. Friday will be Valentine’s Day! Whether you will be waiting patiently for the post, expecting a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates is the question. It’s all supposed to be about expressing your affection for someone, maybe secretly, or even openly. It is supposed to be romantic to propose marriage on the day. Maybe the older you get the more you feel the whole business is more about commercialism than romance.

 

However, isn’t it good to be reminded of the need to tell those closest to you of your love, and affection for them? We get caught up in the day-to-day struggle of life, and forget to say thank you to those who do most for us. Preoccupied with the daily grind, we neglect to express our love for those closest to us. The difficulty comes when organisations want to charge exorbitant prices for a simple bunch of flowers, or chocolates that come in a heart shaped box.

 

The Christian message is about the expression of God’s love for each one of us. The Bible says that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son’. Whilst some people may complain about their partner, who either forgot to buy or bought something cheap as a token of their affection, God gave all that He had – His only and well-loved Son. It cost God everything!

 

If you receive an expensive gift, there is always the possibility that you feel you’re worth it. After all I do for him/her, it might be said, that’s the least I deserve. The Bible reminds us that God’s gift was given to us ‘while we were yet sinners’. God didn’t give His Son for those who loved Him in return. God didn’t give His Son to those who had some vague feeling towards Him. God gave His Son to die upon a Roman cross for those who hated Him, reviled Him, and rejected Him. That’s love far greater than any human being can express.

 

Why did God do that? Because He loves us, and wants to save us from the punishment that our failures and sins deserve! But let us also appreciate that God does not force His love upon us. He offers it to all, but it is only experienced by those who are prepared to trust Him, and accept His Son as their Saviour.

 

I wonder how you would feel if, after spending a considerable sum of money, you gave a gift to a loved one only to find it thrown away, rejected, and broken. What would be your reaction? Think of how God feels when so many give no thought or time to what He has already done. Are you prepared to turn your back upon an old life that is opposed to God and accept His offer of love and salvation?