February 14 is a VERY important day this year for 2 reasons. The first one is obvious: It’s Valentine’s Day! This is a day to celebrate love, especially that kind of love that is romantic in nature. There will be a lot of gifts purchased for this special day. Flower, card, and candy purchasing will significantly increase around this time. Jewelry stores and restaurants usually see an uptick in sales, too. If the economists are right, approximately $26 billion dollars will be spent as people tangibly express their love to others for this special day. (Yeah. That’s a LOT of money!)
February 14 of this year is important for another reason. Not only is it Valentine’s Day, but it is also the first day of Lent. Lent is the 46-day period between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday leading up to Easter Sunday. During this time Christians around the world will begin focusing on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some will begin abstaining from certain foods or other luxuries 6 days each week beginning on the first day of Lent, Feb. 14, and ending on Holy Saturday, March 30. Those who follow this pattern do not abstain on Sunday because that is a day of holy celebration. Others may begin on Feb. 14th and go for 40 straight days with no breaks ending their “Lenten Season” on Palm Sunday, which happens to be March 24 this year.
When it was brought to my attention that Valentine’s Day this year also happens to be the First Day of Lent, this question came to my mind: “What’s love got to do with…. Lent?” (Disclaimer: I mean no disrespect to Tina Turner. This is just how my mind works.) As it turns out, love has EVERYTHING to do with Lent. Here’s why.
Most people associate love with the feelings that come along with that emotion. There is nothing wrong with that because love does bring about some feelings that compel people to write poems, sing songs, and spend a LOT of money on the one they love for Valentine’s Day. But love is about WAY more than feelings. It’s also about sacrifice.
Parents understand this. A parent’s love for a child motivates him or her to wake up for midnight feedings and diaper changes, go to T-ball games to watch a child while missing their favorite pro or college team play a rival on tv, and get to work each day to earn a living that provides for the family’s material needs. When those same kids get older, it’s love that compels the parents to wait up on Friday and Saturday nights until their teenager is safely home and holds them tightly as they cry because a boyfriend or girlfriend broke up with them. Love is sacrifice.
God understands this. John recorded these often-quoted words of Jesus: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16 Love compelled The Father to send His Son to give His life for the sins of mankind. That kind of love was more than a feeling. It’s sacrifice.
Jesus understood this, too. He told His disciples, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” - John 15:13 He later demonstrated these words were more than just theory by putting them into practice. Jesus willingly submitted to the cross of calvary, was buried in a borrowed tomb, and resurrected from the dead 3 days later for me and you. That kind of love is more than a temporary emotion. It’s sacrifice.
February 14, 2024, is Valentine’s Day. I hope you get to celebrate that special day with beautiful gifts and, perhaps, a romantic dinner out and enjoy all the feelings that come with love. There is a whole lot right with that!
As the Lenten Season begins on February 14, 2024, pointing us to Easter on the horizon, I hope you will also take some time to remember that love is more than a feeling. It is sacrifice.
“By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” – 1 John 3:16
Lord bless,
Bro. Ray
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