February 14th is Just another Day

Today is Valentine’s Day for those who aren’t aware of it. And since today is a day of love for most people, I decided to talk a bit about love. Not the mushy, butterfly, emotion filled kind of love but agape love; the God kind of love.

Valentine is a big deal for a lot of people. It’s a day they get flowers, chocolate, teddy bear, ice cream, poems, and whatever extras but whenever I read the valentine story, I realize it was so different from what we practice today.

That being said, here is a link to St’ Valentine’s story on my blog; see it… http://sureboy.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-valentines-story.html

This blog is actually for those of you who don’t have a “valentine”… no flowers, no chocolate, no text/call. I want you to know that you actually have more than that.

Our human society have only set aside a day to show love but God doesn't do that. He loves you every single day whether it’s February 10^th, 11^th, 12^th, 13^th or 14^th and if there were February 37^th He would still love you on that day too.

Allow me to ask you this question… do you really believe that you’re loved by God? Not just knowing it in your head but do you actually believe deep down in your heart that you are loved, cherished, wanted, pursued, and adored?

I don’t think many people actually believe that. We turn to hear about the love of God so much that it doesn't even move us anymore but God’s love is for real.

Picture this! God… the creator of the universe, the same God who was here before anything was here, the same God who created you and every other person on the planet literally got off His throne, came down to earth, lived a sinless life and died a shameful death all for love.

I don’t know what that means to you but that for me means everything. God’s love is unlike any love and He is willing to go all the way to prove His love for us. 

Now on valentine, I really do not think it is a bad idea but I do feel the idea of celebrating love once in a year is horrible. If we only celebrate love one day, what happens to the remaining 364 days in the year?

I know some of you want to be cuddled, taken out on a date and have all those other beautiful stuff synonymous with valentine and hey, there’s nothing wrong with that but I don’t want your desire for that to distract you from experiencing real love.

You can have all the boxes of chocolate in the world but if you do not have a relationship with Jesus I’m afraid you cannot know love; neither can you experience real love. Christ is the beginning and the end of love.

He loves you regardless of who you are, what you did or didn't do and nothing…. absolutely nothing will ever keep Him from loving you so now tell me, how you found true love yet? Real genuine love is only found in God not in a human.

Our identities aren't wrapped up in what happens to us on Valentine’s Day. Our Identities are wrapped up in the love that our Savior gives. It’s constant, it’s forever and it’s free. ♥

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The Valentine’s Story

Approximately 250 years after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, there was a priest by the name of Valentine. He lived in Rome. At that time, Claudius was the Emperor of Rome. Some people called him Claudius the Cruel. St. Valentine didn’t like Emperor Claudius, and he wasn’t the only one! Many people felt the same way. Claudius wanted a big army. He thought men should volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to leave home and go off to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their girlfriends and wives. So, not many men volunteered for the Roman army. This made Emperor Claudius very angry. He had a crazy idea that if men were not married, they would be more inclined to join his army.

So Claudius decreed that there would be no more marriages. Young people thought his new law was really cruel. Valentine thought it was ridiculous! One of his favorite duties as a priest was to marry people. After Emperor Claudius passed his law, Valentine kept on performing marriage ceremonies – but secretly. He would whisper the words of the ceremony, while listening for soldiers on the steps outside.

We’ll get more of the St. Valentine story a little later!

One night, Valentine did hear footsteps at his door. The couple he was marrying escaped, but he was caught. He was thrown in jail and told that his punishment was death.

St. Valentine tried to stay cheerful. Many young people came to the jail to visit him. They threw flowers and notes up to his window. They wanted him to know that they, too, believed in love.
One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit him in his cell. They often sat and talked for hours. She believed he did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and performing marriage ceremonies

On the day Valentine was to die, he left her a note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. He signed it, "Love from your Valentine." That note started the custom of exchanging love notes on Valentine’s Day. It was written on the day he died, February 14, 269 A.D.

Now, every year on valentine day, people world over celebrate love and friendship.

So there you have it.... your valentine story. St. Valentine loved God enough to die for God’s Truth.

CLOSING:
There's no better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than to commit or recommit your life to Jesus! Christ loved us enough to die for us!