Valentine's Day is four weeks away.
The celebration of love
is already appearing in retail stores across America, Canada, Mexico, the
United Kingdom, France, and Australia. On a shopping trip last week, masses of
red, white, and pink color attracted my attention as I wheeled my shopping cart
past the end of an aisle. Heart shaped cookies, heart shaped candy boxes, and
heart adorned cards lined both sides of the store aisle. I will admit that I
did turn my shopping cart down the Aisle of Love and look at the displayed
candy. Did you know that candy corn comes in red, pink, and white for
Valentine's Day? As I looked at the wide variety of heart adorned and heart
shaped candies, I wondered what God thinks about all of this heart mania. Hearts mean love, right? Following this idea, I decided to
see what the Book of Matthew has to say about hearts and love.
God Loves Jesus
First, at Jesus's baptism, God announced that Jesus is His
Son, He loves him, and He is well pleased with him. Later on, God repeated this
message to the disciples, but added, "Listen to him!" Sounds like
love to me. A father loves his son, approves his son, and lets the important
people in Jesus's life know they need to listen to him.
The Pure in Heart
Then, Jesus preached that the pure in heart are blessed
because they will see God. Pure in heart is expressed at Valentine's Day by the
white trim on the red hearts. I can see where the holiday symbols actually
relate to scripture. However, I do not remember ever seeing a scripture based Valentine's
Day card.
Love, Prayer, and Persecutors
Jesus also said," But I tell you: Love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you," Love and pray for your enemies.
You really do have to love Jesus a lot to pray for your enemies. Actually, when
I have practiced praying for those whom I dislike, it removed my anger towards
them. Hmm I actually have given cards to people because it was the "right
thing to do." Last year I saw chocolate praying hands in the Valentine's
Day section of a store. Maybe the candy manufacturers are trying to appeal to
Christians on Valentine's Day.
Do You Treasure God or Money?
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also...No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve
both God and Money." Such a familiar scripture. Income issues are when I
have trouble staying focused on God. However, I do treasure God more than
money. Valentine's Day does cause me to
think about how much I treasure my family. That is one reason for giving your
loved ones a card for Valentine's Day.
And Jesus Says...
Later in his ministry, Jesus told a rich young man to
"honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself. Again,
Jesus wants us to love family and acquaintances.
Finally, Jesus said the greatest commandment was to
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind." The next greatest commandment is to" Love your
neighbor as yourself."
In Conclusion
The scriptures tell me that God and Jesus want
us to love each other all the time, not just on
Valentine's Day. Heart mania is okay, but do not forget to carry it through the
year.
Scriptures
Matthew 3:17; 5:8; 5:44; 6:21; 6:24;17:5; 19:19; 22:37
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Thank-you for stopping by and visiting today. SalleeB