“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
– John 3:16
Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, it’s less than a week away!
Most people are very black or white about Valentine’s Day, you either love it or you hate it. Although it’s mostly a Hallmark holiday, it is nice to have a dedicated day on the calendar to stop, smell the roses, and be reminded of love.
On the other hand, Valentine’s Day can be a painful reminder of a past relationship gone wrong or the fact that you’re single and it seems as though everyone else has someone to love.
But I have great news for you, whether you’re with someone or you’re single. There is someone who loves you more than you can imagine, and His name is Jesus!
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.”
– 1 John 3:16a
Our journey to truly knowing and experiencing the fullness of God’s love isn’t always smooth. It can be a bit more like the song “Looking for love in all the wrong places.” Am I right?
As a teenager, somehow I convinced myself that I wasn’t important if I didn’t have a boyfriend. So I had many, some serious and some not so serious. Maybe it was from watching Jerry Maguire and hearing that infamous line, “You complete me,” that I assumed I needed a guy to complete my life. I longed for someone to love me, someone to complete me.
I tried filling the hole that God created in me—in all of us—that was meant for Him. I just didn’t recognize that’s what I was doing. Although I came to have a relationship with Jesus during those years and knew He secured my place in heaven, I didn’t initially realize He could be my deepest source of completion and satisfaction.
We’re all different, but we were all wired with the desire to be loved and made complete by our Creator.
Not acknowledging or understanding this need, many of us turn to things or people to make us complete. Some people turn to television, alcohol, drugs, pornography, shopping, food, money, work or people to fill that void. Those things may seem to work for a time, but the feeling won’t last.
Nothing and no one can make us complete other than Jesus! Not a spouse, not children, not a riches or a job. These things can complement us, but never complete us. Once we truly understand how deep and wide and long His love is for us, we can feel complete in Him alone.
So, whether you’re single, in a relationship or married, I pray that you will take the time today to pause and marvel at God’s love for you. Read God’s love letter to you, His Word. I recommend reading 1 John chapters three and four.
Here is my Valentine’s Day prayer for you:
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
– Ephesians 3: 17-19