I Love You!
Dan Kunz
Since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, it seems appropriate to spend some time pondering the meaning of true love.
Valentine’s Day, also called St. Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14, is a day on which lovers express their affection with greetings and gifts. The holiday has origins in the Roman festival of Lupercalia, held in mid-February. The festival, which celebrated the coming of spring, included fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day. It came to be celebrated as a day of romance from about the 14th century. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Most of us probably have fond (or not so fond) memories of our earliest Valentine’s Day experiences in elementary school. Remember those cute cards your mom helped you buy or make, to give people in your class? Maybe you made special cookies or bought some of those heart-shaped candies with the little sayings on them. You had to make sure you picked out just the right saying for that “special someone”. Did you have a teacher who required that if you were going to bring a card or treat for anyone, you had to bring a card or treat for everyone? The idea behind the requirement is good, but it sometimes led to problems, too. How much does a card or treat really mean if everyone is required to get one? Does that special someone really like me, or was I just part of the crowd?
Fortunately, we don’t have to worry about that with Jesus. It’s true that he came into the world to die for everyone, but that wasn’t because he was required to by some teacher. He came because he really loves each and every one of us. He didn’t just give us a heart-shaped card or a pink Rice Krispie bar, he showed his love for us by serving us. He showed his love by his acts of kindness to the sick, the lame, and the hungry of his day. He showed his love by washing his disciples’ feet on Maundy Thursday. He lived a perfect life and died a perfect death in service to us. He showed his love by his words on the cross, “Father, forgive them!”
Although we’ve no doubt moved beyond the grade school days of “I wonder if he or she likes me”, Valentine’s Day should still be special. It may be special because we have a “love of our life”, but it should also be special because of our Savior. It reminds us that every day was and is Valentine’s Day for Jesus. He has never stopped loving us. He has never stopped serving us. He has never stopped longing to have us with him – for eternity. I John 4:10 “This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for us.” John 15:9 “As the Father loved me, I too have loved you. Remain in my love.”