"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 14th, and if you are a member of the club that sees Valentine’s Day as S.A.D. (Single Awareness Day), you can actually pick up a Valentine’s card and/or treat for your pet or buy yourself some flowers! Picture yourself as God’s living Valentine to a world that needs His love.

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.

The gospel is the ultimate Valentine that should not be kept a secret! 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.

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. 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.

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.

Many Blessings!