Valentine

Valentine's Day. Some love it, some hate it. It is yet another holiday that has been coopted by the marketing gurus on Madison Avenue. It has become a day of chocolate and trite sayings. The "love" spoken of these days for Valentine's Day is something often shallow, self-serving, and purely physical. Somehow, we have allowed ourselves to get "love" and "lust" confused. Maybe the reason so many relationships fail is because we base them on fleeting criteria such as physical attraction, happiness, or emotional fulfillment. What if we really looked at love in a Biblical sense? What if we really took love seriously, and based it on the ultimate model of unconditional love that we find in Scripture - the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ? I dare to say that things would be different.
All in all, I look forward to celebrating Valentine's Day with my lovely wife whom I try to make the most important person in my life every day. For those who are married, I encourage similar behavior. For those who are not yet, treat everyone with the integrity they deserve. Do not let the world's corrupted, selfish image of "love" distract you from being able to truly express (and receive) real love in a real way. If anything, Valentine's Day should serve as a reminder of the commitment required for real love to blossom, grow, and mature. God did the same with us.
As Reba McEntire sang, "Love isn't love until you give it away." I agree. Let's really make this Valentine's Day mean something as we try to give real, unconditional, selfless love away in meaningful, deep ways. If we do this well, we can shake the world upside down and show a little bit of Christ's light in a world full of darkness. That's real love.

Happy Valentine's Day!