The Heart of Saint Valentine’s Day is Not Romance
Saturday’s Verse:
From 1 John 3:16 ESV
“By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
For most people, Saint Valentine equals roses, candy grams, and candlelight dinners. But that’s not how we remember Saint Valentine.
We remember Valentine for faithfulness.
Valentine was a pastor who lived in the third century. Christianity was illegal. Your life could be forfeit if you confessed Christ as Lord. Legend has it that Valentine continued to marry Christian couples in secret. He would also meet with believers to encourage them in their faith. Eventually, the authorities caught up with him. Valentine was arrested and later executed for his faith.
Valentine’s love was not mushy. It was not merely romantic. It was faithful.
For Lutherans, Valentine’s story points us beyond mushy sentiments. Love is more than what we feel for each other. Love is ultimately founded on Christ. Jesus loved us by giving His life for us. He loved us while we were still sinners. While we were unworthy, He sacrificed Himself out of mercy. That, my friends, is love.
Luther wrote extensively about our vocations. God has placed each of us in ordinary callings. Callings where we love our neighbors in simple and faithful ways. Husband loves wife. Wife cares for her family. A friend tells the truth. Pastors proclaim Christ. None of it is glamorous. All of it is holy if we do it in faithfulness.
Valentine died for his faith. Remember, Christians in his day could lose their heads for following Christ. Valentine had courage, and his love may have cost him everything. Sometimes following Jesus means love will cost us comfort. It will cost us our reputation. In certain times and places, love will even cost us our lives. But thanks be to God, Christian love is modeled on the cross. It is made possible by Christ’s forgiveness, not by our love.
On Valentine’s Day, may we remember Christ loved us first. We love because He first loved us. The heart of Valentine is not romance. It is Christ crucified and risen for sinners.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Champion of Love. You displayed Your perfect love when You laid down Your life for us on the cross. Give us strength to love our neighbors in the vocations You have given us. Strengthen us to boldly confess Your Name. Give us patience to labor in our callings, and keep us joyful in Your forgiveness. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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