Was I the only one who was anxious around Valentine’s Day growing up?

I distinctly remember worrying about whether my Scooby Doo Valentine’s Cards would be well received and whether I made the list to get something back from my classmates. Valentine’s Day can be awkward and often is filled with unmet and irrational expectations.

As this day approaches, my prayer for us is that instead of dwelling on the unsettling emotions which often accompany this holiday, we can instead focus on the length, width, height and depth of God’s unfailing love.

Here are three verses to help us do just that – three of the best Valentine’s Day sentiments we could ever hope to receive:

1. John says in I John 4:10: In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a sacrifice for our sins.
2. …that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:17-19)
3. I Cor. 13:4-8 states: Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up. It is not rude, it is not self-serving, it is not easily angered or resentful. It is not glad about injustice, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

Christ loves us with a love that has no strings attached and no hidden agendas. Christ’s love is all about giving, not getting; there is no score keeping.

We received the most; we gave the least.

We brought nothing to the table; He brought everything.

Unfortunately, we are score keepers by nature. Resentment and bitterness poison our hearts against one another and relationships become a contract of meeting needs and negotiation of terms (you do this…I will do that). This is the furthest from the heart of Christ.

The gift that Christ wants to give us not only for February 14, but for every day of the year, is the supernatural capacity to love those in our life in a way that resembles His love for us. Christ is calling us to love one another, even if it is not returned or returned in the way that we think it should be.

Our love looks the most like Christ’s love when we get nothing back. A love that gives to give, and not to get.

Much love,

David Anderson

P.S. Do you know someone who needs to be reminded today of God’s love? Consider sending him or her one of these verses, or this letter, with your personal Valentine’s Day wishes.