see also "God's Valentine"
"Be My Valentine." This is a phrase that conjures up a lot of different images associated with the celebration of Valentine's Day. Cards with hearts and little poems on them. Candy and flowers given to someone one loves. And images of cupids flying around shooting their arrows of love into unsuspecting youths; young and old alike expressing their affection for their sweethearts. February 14th for us means cards, candy, flowers, and cupids.
Our Mothers and Fathers in the Faith would be surprised at what has become of Valentine's Day. What we call Valentine's day began in the church as the Feast of St. Valentine. It was a religious holiday. They would be especially shocked at the use of Cupid since he was a character from a pagan mythology. For the founders of this holiday it was a day to remember and celebrate the life and death of a Christian Martyr.
According to church legend, St. Valentine was a priest near Rome in about the year 270 A.D. At that time the Roman Emperor was imprisoning Christians for not worshipping the Roman gods. During this persecution Valentine was arrested. Some legends say he was arrested because he was performing Christian marriages, but others say it was for helping Christians escape prison. During the trial they asked Valentine what he thought of the Roman gods Jupiter and Mercury. Of course he said they were false gods and that the God that Jesus called Father was the only true God. So the Romans threw him in prison for insulting the gods. While in prison Valentine continued to minister. He witnessed to the guards. One of the guards was a good man who had adopted a blind girl. He asked Valentine if his God could help his daughter. Valentine prayed and the girl was given her sight. The guard and his whole family, 46 people, believed in Jesus and were baptized. Because these people had come to know Jesus, Valentine praised God right there in his prison cell. When the emperor heard about this he was furious that Valentine was still making converts even in prison, so he had Valentine beheaded.
Valentine knew that he might get caught in his Christian activities. He knew that if he told the court the truth about the Roman gods that he would be thrown in prison. And he knew that if he continued to witness to Christ in the prison he would make his captors angry. But he continued, because he loved the Lord and his fellow humans. He was willing to risk his life to free the prisoners and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who needed to hear it.
There is a big difference between our modern Valentine's Day and it's Christian roots. Both are celebrations of love, but they show us the difference between the world's understanding of love and the Christian understanding. For the world, love can mean a lot of different things. It can refer to the deep communion experienced by a couple who have been married 50 years. Or "love" may simply refer to a physical act. More often than not it refers to romantic love, the feeling between a man and a woman. Too often it is nothing more than an over glorified puppy love. When the world says, "I am in Love," they mean my knees are weak and my throat is dry and I am attracted to someone. This "love" is often devoid of commitment and depth. "Love" by the world's definition can be as flimsy and insubstantial as a cheap Valentine's Card.
But the Church's definition of love is quite different. Jesus said, "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."(John 15:13) The world's standard for love is a warm gushy feeling. But God's standard for love is the ultimate act of giving one's life for the one that is loved. This is a level of love that far surpasses the kind of love the world offers. The world's love is often self-serving and self centered. Its purpose is to serve the lover not the one loved. When it fails to serve the lover then the object of that love is abandoned. God's love on the other hand lives, and even dies, for the sake of the one who is being loved.
For the Christian the ultimate example of that love is Jesus Christ. He is the living example of God's love. He lived and died for our sake. He came to this earth so that the lost and lonely people of the world could experience the Kingdom of God. And he died for our sins so that we could be reunited with our Heavenly Father in this life. And he rose again so that we could be united with God for eternity in the life after.
The world's love can be characterized as a flimsy cardboard card, but God's love is best exemplified by the thick bloodstained boards of the cross.
For those of us who believe in Christ, Valentine's Day is a day to celebrate the love of God. That love was shown to us in the life and death of Jesus and the life and death of martyrs like Valentine. It is a love with a depth of commitment that goes deeper than any other love. It is a depth of commitment that surpasses even the desire to survive. It is the love of a God willing to suffer so that his creatures could know salvation. It is the love of a man willing to risk death so that others can know eternal life.
So you may wonder, "Should I give a Valentine to my spouse or sweetheart or parents, or...?" If you know what is good for you, you better. I would go further and suggest that you husbands buy your wife some flowers or a special gift. But we must remember that the love we Christians experience and share is different from what the world knows. We may give flowers and cards just like the world, but those tokens are expressions of a deeper love. They are expressions of love that is measured by the standard God's love.
Our love never completely measures up to the greatness of God's love. But with God's help we can grow in that direction and strive toward that ideal. Jesus said, "This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you." He also said that he has called and appointed us to bear fruit. That fruit is the love that we, with God's help, share with one another. Christ's love for us is the example that we should look to in all our relationships. It should define how we love our spouses, our children, our parents and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
"Be my Valentine." We all want to hear that phrase today. It simply means, "you are loved." I am here to tell you that you are loved. God loves you and wants you to be his Valentine.
The love that God gives us is not like the world's love. God's love is not a flimsy cheap imitation. It is the real thing. It is an all-giving love that was and is willing to suffer and die for our deliverance.
Will you be God's Valentine? It is your choice. Let's say yes and return in kind the love that God first gave us. And when we do, let's remember the first Valentine and the way he gave everything, including his life, to the God he loved.