“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Today was a day to celebrate love. Today was filled with flowers for some, candy for others, and for us it was filled with those little Valentine’s Day cards that the kids hand out at school.
I personally love Valentine’s Day. What can I say? I am a hopeless romantic at heart. As a child my parents made sure that each Valentine’s Day was special. One year I received flowers and balloons at school and was the envy of the whole class for the rest of the day. When I met my husband, while still in high-school, I again received flowers on Valentine’s Day. All of the girls “oohed and aahed” over them with me. Still, as a grown woman I think Valentine’s Day is one of the most fun holidays we celebrate.
The past few days, as Valentine’s Day was approaching, I began to think about God and His love for us. How much we take that love for granted. All around us, every day, God shows His love for us. He does not have one particular day each year that He waits to send us flowers or candy. God blesses us each day with a magnificent sunrise and each evening with a beautiful sunset. Each spring He brings us flowers to bloom and new growth of all kinds. In the winter God dusts the ground with snow and gives us a winter wonderland to enjoy. In the fall God paints the leaves orange, and red for us and gives us cool breezes to relieve us from the heat of summer. How long could we sit and talk about the love of God?
There is one gift that our Heavenly Father gave to us that surpasses any gift we will ever receive. This gift is better than chocolate, better than flowers, and better than any stuffed teddy bear you could ever be given. This gift is eternal. Flowers fade, candy is gone in a day(sooner than that if you live in my house) and stuffed animals lose their shape. The gift that God gave to each of us is eternal life. He gave this to us through the death of His son Jesus Christ. The gift of eternal life is there for all of us to receive. It is free. All we have to do is reach out and claim it.
John 3:16 tells us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Today, no matter if you received one hundred gifts or no gifts, please remember that God has a gift for you. It is the greatest gift that was or will ever be given. This gift is yours for the taking. You can not earn it, you can not buy it, and you can never find it anywhere else except through Jesus Christ.
I want to encourage you today. Accept the gift that God has given to you. Reach out and claim it. We would never reject flowers or candy when given to us by someone who loves us on Valentine’s Day. Please do not reject this priceless gift of love and eternal life that God is handing to you. I promise that it will be the best gift you have ever received. It is perfect, and eternal.
God bless you.
Happy Valentine’s Day from my heart to yours.
Encouragement For Every Day 