“If I were to try to talk about the greatness of God’s love,
I would only run in circles. Because I can’t speak of that which cannot be
spoken of. But to break it down a little, this love of God is an attribute of
God—it never began to be and can never end; it can never change, and there is
no boundary to it.”—AW Tozer
No matter where you fall on the Hallmark love quotient
today—a 1 or a 10, or off the charts at one end or the other—it’s a very cool
thing that Valentine’s Day this year falls on a Sunday.
It’s a good time, even if in the midst of pain of losses
recent or distant, to celebrate the fact that relationships (yes,
even with “man’s best friend”) matter deeply to God, because He is the One who
invented the line: “it’s not good for man to be alone.” For every one that breaks, dies, or moves away, we can be grateful that He always brings at least one someone into our life who becomes more than just a "hi, how are you?" relationship. God also knows that
pursuing this Walk was meant to be shared with (some or all of the following)
spouses, family members, and good friends who are like-minded and have an endless supply of
encouraging words. In fact, not
just a nice idea, but essential for successful completion.
It’s also a good time to remember that the greatest
Valentine ever written was this one:
“When
we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right
time and died for us sinners who had no use for him. Even
if we were good, we really wouldn’t expect anyone to die for us, though, of
course, that might be barely possible. But God
showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were
still sinners. And since by his blood he did all this for us
as sinners, how much more will he do for us now that he has declared us
not guilty? Now he will save us from all of God’s wrath to come. And
since, when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of
his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends and he
is living within us! Now we rejoice in our wonderful new
relationship with God—all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in
dying for our sins—making us friends of God.” — Romans 5:5-11, Living
The gift of God’s amazing love and amazing grace to us is no
small thing—which, of course, we know but can become numb to at times from the
daily onslaught of life’s stresses and strains. And if so, then today is a great reminder that this amazing love and grace,
as one translation puts it, is a “much more” kind of love, one that “overflows”
continually 24/7, and is an “abundant provision” that results in fullness of
life—a life that “reigns” in freedom and forgiveness and peace. And “much more”
than that, even.
So incomparable is this kind of love that, unlike all other
imperfect variations, God doesn’t unwrap His arms around me even when He knows
me much better than I know myself (or would care to admit).
Which is why today is a good day to enjoy those little hard candies that say
“Be Mine,” and know that it's unshakably true. Better still, a good day to remember that being a friend of God means
you don’t ever have to believe in wishful thinking in declaring:
"This is amazing grace! This is unfailing Love! That You
would take my place, that You would bear my cross. You lay down Your life
that I would be set free. Oh,Jesus, I sing for all that You’ve done for me.” — Phil Wickham
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