The Ultimate Valentine

There really isn’t any other day on earth like it.  If you just look at Valentine’s Day by the numbers, it boggles the brain a bit:

♥  $130.97 – The average estimated amount an individual will spend on Valentine’s Day.

♥  $224 million – The estimated number of roses grown for Valentine’s Day.

♥  $18.6 billion – The projected total amount Americans will spend for Valentine’s Day.

♥  $1.6 billion – The amount people will spend on candy

♥  $1.9 billion – The amount people will spend on flowers

♥  $4.4 billion – The amount people will spend on diamonds, gold, and silver

Not only that, but over 6 million folks will propose on February 14^th, and if you are a member of the club that sees Valentine’s Day as S.A.D. (i.e., Single Awareness Day), you can actually pick up a Valentine’s card and/or treat for your pet!

But then after the hundreds of pounds of chocolate have been gobbled, and the millions of cards have been exchanged, and the billions of dollars spent, their comes the inevitable follow up—

February 15

That’s the day when we go back to our daily grind, and all that focus on love typically gets thrown out with the wrappers and cards.  This probably happens because we put so much emphasis on the temporary and emotionally-driven feeling called love, which is why it is so important to remember that God sends us a very different message:

For the mountains may move
and the hills disappear,
but even then my faithful love for you will remain.
My covenant of blessing will never be broken,”
says the Lord, who has mercy on you (Isaiah 54:10).

Isn’t this amazing?  Long after our flowers have faded and the feelings have waned, God’s love endures beyond even the foundations of the earth!  That’s because His love for us isn’t centered in our beauty, behavior or even our love for Him.  God’s love flows from the unconditional affection and commitment of the perfect Father’s heart.

And here is the best part. When we decide to share the love that God has for us with others, it will have an eternal impact. In fact, loving others the way that God loves us is the only meaningful thing that will last forever:

What if I speak in the most elegant languages of people or in the exotic languages of the heavenly messengers, but I live without love? Well then, anything I say is like the clanging of brass or a crashing cymbal.  What if I have the gift of prophecy, am blessed with knowledge and insight to all the mysteries, or what if my faith is strong enough to scoop a mountain from its bedrock, yet I live without love? If so, I am nothing.  I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts. Love is patient; love is kind. Love isn’t envious, doesn’t boast, brag, or strut about. There’s no arrogance in love;it’s never rude, crude, or indecent—it’s not self-absorbed. Love isn’t easily upset. Love doesn’t tally wrongs  or celebrate injustice; but truth—yes, truth—is love’s delight!  Love puts up with anything and everything that comes along; it trusts, hopes, and endures no matter what.

Love will never become obsolete (1 Corinthians 13:1-8).

This Valentine’s Day, remember that love is so much more than flowers and candy and cards.  It is even more than the deepest feelings you experience, because real love is expressed by unconditional commitment and unwavering dedication to our loved ones—which should be everyone!

That’s why God didn’t spend billions of dollars on us, He sacrificed His priceless Child.

He didn’t send us flowers, but He allowed a crown of thorns to be put on Jesus’ brow.

He didn’t send us a card, but He demonstrated the ultimate Valentine:

Let’s make every day a “Valentine’s Day” for THE Cause in the sense that since God so loved the world, so should we.  Picture yourself as God’s living Valentine to a world that desperately needs to know what love is truly all about.

Flashpoint: Ignite Into Action

Don’t waste this opportunity to talk to people about a love that never fades or diminishes over time.  The gospel is the ultimate Valentine that should not be kept a secret!

Accelerant: Fuel for THE Cause

Pray: Jesus, thank You for showing us what true love is by dying on the Cross for our sins.  Help us to share that love and the message of eternal life with others, and may our friends be open to trusting You as their only hope of salvation

Read: Romans 5:8. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Get: The Father’s Love Letter Video. Check out this enduring “Love Letter” from God, based entirely on verses from the Bible. Then pass it along to someone who needs to hear how much God loves them.