February 14th - Valentine’s Day holds many expectations for people. Some may be thinking along the lines of roses and chocolates, others might secretly be hoping that their significant other will surprise them with a diamond ring and “pop the question,” or some other type of sparkly jewelry, or there are those who just think it’s another one of those Hallmark made up Holidays. However you look at this day, there is a lot that we can take from this Sunday. It’s the last Sunday before we celebrate Ash Wednesday and enter into the first week of Lent, but it’s also a day that we can use as a reminder for the unsolicited love that God gives to all of us. God created us to love, to express that love to others, and to also receive it. God gave us the greatest example of love by giving up his only son to die on the cross for us. In Romans 5:8, we read while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This is how much God loves us. He loves us more than all the drops in the ocean and seashells on the seashore. His love is not forced, yet he freely offers His love in hopes that we accept it.
In this unsolicited love that God freely gives us, he lays out a path of how we can do the exact same for others. 1 Peter 1:22 say, Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. Love one another with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Even Saint Valentine ministered to persecuted Christians and was martyred because of his refusal to deny Christ. This last Sunday before we begin our Lenten journey and enter into a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, it reminds us to rethink our lives and our relationship with God. Loving others especially those who persecute you or bring you down is not an easy task, but God promises that it will all be worth it in the end. The disposition of love is the only appropriate response to the being of each person. So as you start a new journey this week with your job, your Lenten goals, or just enjoying all the colors and romances of Valentine’s Day, remember that God’s greatest unsolicited love for all of mankind was the cross and that we only need to open the door to seek it.
This Valentine’s Day, consider all the possibilities. Let your words and action flow to all of mankind from an unsolicited Christ-filled Heart.