Valentine’s Day is a special day in the US, or at least it is for couples.  People who are by themselves probably ignore it or openly despise it, but that is neither here nor there.  I won’t go into the history of the holiday; instead, let’s just look at how it is celebrated, by many, in our culture.

For most people, it is supposed to be a day of romance for, well, romantic couples.  This would include people who are married to each other(yes, there can still be romance after marriage), as well as people who are just dating or “in a relationship.”   The evening could include flowers(I saw a lot of those at the store leading up to and including Valentine’s Day), chocolate, dinner(out or in) and romance.  No need to expand on any of those.

Why do we do it?  Put simply, we want to show our love toward our beloved.  And if you think I am going to talk about how God loves us and how He showed us His love for us . . . quit trying to jump ahead.  I’ll get there.

Loving Another

How do we show our love for our beloved?  That can come in a variety of ways.  Let’s look at several.  Love is patient.  In the crazy, fast-paced world that we live in, it can be easy to NOT be patient, even with our beloved.  But love is patient, even when we otherwise would not be.  Love is kind.  Kindness can be easy, especially with your beloved, but sometimes familiarity breeds contempt(i.e. we view as less than special the one we are around so much, or you might say we take them for granted).  But love refuses to yield to that temptation.

Love is not envious.  Jealousy and envy are not the same, but put simply, envy is wanting something that belongs to someone else(and not to you).  If something good happens for or to our beloved, we rejoice with them; we are never envious of them.  Love does not boast(in ourselves).  Love does not brag to one’s beloved; if anything, love brags about one’s beloved(but not too often).  Love is not proud, or self-important.  One’s beloved will let you know that you are important; you don’t need to tell your beloved how important or wonderful you are, or how they are lucky to have you.

Love is not self-seeking.  Love seeks the well-being of one’s beloved.  That brings happiness, by the way.  Love does not worry about self; love worries about one’s beloved.  The list goes on, and you can read that list in I Cor. 13:4-8(a).  It’s pretty straightforward.  It isn’t difficult to understand.  It can be difficult to implement, or live, at times.  Selfishness, the antithesis of love, can be a very default kind of action.  We need to avoid that . . . always, but especially with our beloved.  If you are blessed by God to have a beloved in your life(Prov. 18:22), be thankful.  Thank God.  Then thank that person.  Love them.  Be loved by them.

God’s Shows His Love for Us

Yes, if you have been reading this blog for long at all, you probably knew this is where I was going.  Can you blame me?  Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about showing our love to the one we love; and Who could possibly be better at that than God?  God isn’t just loving.  The Psalms are full of instances where God’s love, His unfailing love(Ps. 13:5; 31:16; 33:22, etc.), is praised.  When you add to that that God IS love(I John 4:8), it becomes obvious that we need to learn from the best.

God does everything for us.  He created us.  He sustains us.  He provides everything we need, even though it might not be everything we want.  And most importantly, He provided a payment for our sins, in the form of His Own Son(Heb. 7:27; 10:12).  He did not hold anything back.  He gave of Himself.  And Jesus gave His life.  Let’s learn from that example.  You can look at I Cor. 13:4-8(a) and see how God loves us . . . how God loves you.  Let’s be like Him . . . as much as we can.