Hey friends!  I am so glad you are here today.  Do you know what happens this week??  It’s Valentine’s Day on Saturday.  I feel like it would be a missed opportunity to not discuss love this week.  So, let’s talk about it.

Normally, I tell a story here but I think a history lesson is more in order.  Do you know the history of Valentine’s Day?  It’s ok, I didn’t really know either.  Well back in 496, St. Valentine was martyred for marrying persecuted Christians.  BUT, there’s another story that says he prayed for the daughter of his jailor and she was healed.  But, there’s another story that says right before he was executed, he wrote a letter to the girl that was healed and it, “My Valentine”. 

Awesome history lesson Jennifer.  It sounds like you don’t know the history either.  Right.  I get that comment but we see with all of these stories are parallels from what St. Valentine did, to what God did for us.

What is love?  Well…it’s a sacrifice.  St. Valentine sacrificed his freedom to marry persecuted Christians.  St. Valentine sacrificed his integrity and reputation by having the faith to pray for the daughter of his jailor.  St. Valentine sacrificed his life and was obedient to God.  

What does all of this St. Valentine stuff have to do with God? 

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world,that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  Most of you know this verse backwards and forwards.  And it seems well played ALOT.  But you see, this IS how much HE LOVES YOU!!  God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son to merely point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was.  He came to help!  He came to make the world right again.

God sacrificed His only Son.  Right there, front and center..”God loved the world so much, he gave his only son…”  Do you know any mom and dads who would just willingly give up their only son so someone else can live?  What is something you feel like you can’t live without?  This can be pretty insignificant to people.  Now, imagine giving it away to someone you don’t know because they need it.  I know you need it but they need it too.  So, you sacrifice and give it to them.

God gave us free will.  God created everything.  Let’s look at the ocean.  A huge body of water.  All the fish.  All the mammals.  All the coral.  Every single grain of sand.  He created it all.  So, if He wanted to, He could have accomplished everything He did in and through Jesus from heaven.  Jesus didn’t have to come here and die.  St. Valentine didn’t have to marry the persecuted Christians.  He didn’t have to pray for the jailor’s daughter.  He didn’t have to send Jesus to this Earth to wait 30 years to go through 3 years of persecution.  People hating Him.  Spitting on Him.  And to die a painful, horrific death.  He could have just controlled us like a robot.  But He sacrificed his only son.

God sacrificed time.  Let’s go way back to Genesis.  God spent time creating the heavens and Earth and everything in it.  Remember?  Then, He creates the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve and then BAM!  They messed it up.  And that started a snowball effect.  It was messed up until Jesus came.  Of course, He could have whipped out His pencil and casually erased the serpent and that would have fixed everything.  But you see, by removing the serpent, it wouldn’t show you how much He loved you.  He worked and worked and worked and got mad and then got REAL mad and then worked some more.  Jesus waited 30 years to start His ministry so He could take time with people He was ministering.  He didn’t want to minister once and be done.  He sacrificed His life.  His Control.  And His time.

At the end of the day, that’s what you want from your people in your life, right?  Sure.  A card, some flowers and candy is nice.  But what is more special is the thought, right?  They took time to think about what flowers or candy you prefer.  They thought about what to write in the card.

So this week as Valentine’s Day approaches, I ask that you reflect on these questions.  How does giving up control go hand in hand with love?  Meaning, how does giving up control of something show you love it (or them)?  How does spending time with someone or something reflect your love?

I hope you know by now, that I really do love you all.  And one of the reasons is because you choose to spend time with me week after week to read these messages.  Messages showing God’s love and mercy.

See you next week,

Jennifer