Valentine's Day

On Monday it will be the most over-hyped day of the year....Valentine's Day. It's not that I am not a romantic, but this day overemphasizes only one type of love. And then of course, millions of dollars are spent (and made by merchants) by people to pursue this one type of love. And it starts in the school and works its way up from there.....

Now some might say "Edward, are you writing this because you didn't get a Valentine's Day card at school?" or "Are you writing this because you are 45 and single (hmmm....sounds like a TV show that was on a few years back)". No, I am writing this because there seems to be little or no mention of the best type of love that there is...

We are told that there are three types of love in the Greek:

• Eros: the kind of love of man for a woman (the one that is over-hyped)
• phileo: the kind of love that you have from a deep friendship
• and finally agape: the unselfish esteem of the object that is loved.

This final type, agape, is the one that describes the type of love that God the Father showed toward us. As it says in Romans 5:8-"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Just think about that, "while we were still sinners"! While there was nothing in us that commanded that the Creator of the universe should come down and rescue us. Christ did not have to die for us, He could have very well allowed us to be separated from Him for all eternity. Yet he chose to endure the cross to pay for the redemption of all mankind. He even did it for those; who in this age that we live in, mock Him, ridicule Him, water down His message or try to make it fit their agenda, don't believe in Him, or don't want anything to do with Him.

Just think about that, a love so great, that it is willing to lay down it's own life for someone that they don't know....and is willing to give that gift of redemption for free, if we just ask? Just think about it...free (the thought of giving something for free would make a merchant's head explode). And without great hype and commercialism....(which would make promoters and ad executives cringe).

So while you are all out there, buying your expensive perfumes, candies, etc....I hope that you make room in your heart for the one type of love that will outlast all of that stuff. The Greatest Valentine Day's gift every given: The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to pay for our sins for all time.....