(by Lorie Codispoti)
According to the Christian History Institute there are several St. Valentines, who were all martyred about the same time in the third century.
First, we have the Valentine who aided Christians who were being persecuted. He was imprisoned, where he found faith in Christ and refused to deny Him. He was tortured, beaten with clubs and then beheaded. He was said to have written letters to his friends during that time that read, “Remember your Valentine.”
And third, Valentine was a priest who refused to sacrifice to pagan gods. From his prison cell he shared God’s love through his testimony. As a result of his prayers the jailer’s daughter was healed and on the day of his execution he left her a note that was signed, “your Valentine.”
There isn’t enough evidence on any one Valentine to determine which one the day was named after, but, there is one thing that I see common to all three; each one embraced and lived out what it truly means to love.
Today is a great day to remind ourselves of the wonderful truths found in I Corinthians 13…
Love is longsuffering
Love is kind
It doesn’t envy, parade itself, or puff up
It doesn’t behave rudely, seek its own, provoke, or think evil
It doesn’t rejoice in sin, but rather in the truth
It bears all things
It believes all things
It hopes all things
IT ENDURES ALL THINGS!
Valentine endured much, because that's what selfless love does.
Love is hard!
Everything I read in scripture about love demands a kind of love that I do not possess in and of myself. Without my Helper I am not capable of this kind of love. I can’t work it up, I can’t fake it, and I can’t escape it. This kind of love requires something of me that I cannot give; yet, like Valentine, He calls me to it and then enables me to walk in it. Isn’t that so incredibly awesome?
I’d like to challenge each of you this Valentine’s Day (& every day really) to look beyond the shallow, trinket filled, heart fluff our culture promotes. Go a little deeper into what it meant for Valentine to put action to his words and LIVE out his love. Ask yourself if you are willing to love like that… to bear things unpleasant… to believe that God has a plan… to hope in what you can’t see… and to endure the hardships that accompany true love. Jesus was willing and it broke His heart and cost Him his life. You and I are not capable of this kind of love… but He is… and if He lives in you He will enable you to embrace and live out this love. If we say yes to His definition of love, then we must be willing to embrace the “fellowship of His suffering.”
It is hard to love, but the fruit of Christ's love borne out in your life is worth every sacrifice.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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