The Most Extravagant Valentine
“I’m skipping Valentine’s Day this year.”
When February 14 comes near, I hear and see the sting of broken hearts disenchanted with the whole “Will you be my valentine?” charm or its absence.
As a young and vulnerable heart, Valentine’s Day without a boyfriend seemed ghastly to me. The Valentine’s Day blues at its peak. A girl in love with love.
There were three valentines I always longed to be.
A daughter valentine. My biological father was absent from my life when I was a young girl, this left me feeling unlovable. So I longed to be my father’s little girl, then his big girl. And his sweetheart as a child and woman dear to his heart.
A friend valentine. The sweetheart next door. Known as the small town girl who’s sweet, kind and loving. Young school days of passing out valentines to all my classmates. But transferring into those yearbook signing days of “To a sweet girl.”
A girlfriend valentine. Picked as the sweetheart of someone in school. Especially middle school and beyond. “Will you be my valentine? Will you be mine?” One day in college, a boy asked me to be his valentine forever. Thirty-six years later, I’m still my husband’s sweetheart.
When February 14 comes near, I hear and see the sting of broken hearts disenchanted with the whole “Will you be my valentine?” charm or its absence.
As a young and vulnerable heart, Valentine’s Day without a boyfriend seemed ghastly to me. The Valentine’s Day blues at its peak. A girl in love with love.
There were three valentines I always longed to be.
A daughter valentine. My biological father was absent from my life when I was a young girl, this left me feeling unlovable. So I longed to be my father’s little girl, then his big girl. And his sweetheart as a child and woman dear to his heart.
A friend valentine. The sweetheart next door. Known as the small town girl who’s sweet, kind and loving. Young school days of passing out valentines to all my classmates. But transferring into those yearbook signing days of “To a sweet girl.”
A girlfriend valentine. Picked as the sweetheart of someone in school. Especially middle school and beyond. “Will you be my valentine? Will you be mine?” One day in college, a boy asked me to be his valentine forever. Thirty-six years later, I’m still my husband’s sweetheart.
You see, I’ve always wanted close love relationships with people who really get me. To know my heart as much as a person can know another human heart. Do they know what makes me smile, moves me to tears, causes me to laugh out loud, brings me to sadness or throws me into a tizzy? To understand me and love me, for me and as me.
And through the years, I often felt unloved. The pit of my heart carried a nagging sense of deep emptiness. This, my friends, is a sad condition on any day.
Valentine’s, the day of love, and February, the month of love, can be a jubilant celebration regardless of whether we’ve secured a valentine date or the love of our life. No need to totally skip out on the holiday.
Cupid loaded with his bow and arrows is not necessary.
When it comes to true love, Cupid’s always missed the bullseye. His make-believe persona and pretentious match-making are stray arrows that never hit dead center the target of real love.
And through the years, I often felt unloved. The pit of my heart carried a nagging sense of deep emptiness. This, my friends, is a sad condition on any day.
Valentine’s, the day of love, and February, the month of love, can be a jubilant celebration regardless of whether we’ve secured a valentine date or the love of our life. No need to totally skip out on the holiday.
Cupid loaded with his bow and arrows is not necessary.
When it comes to true love, Cupid’s always missed the bullseye. His make-believe persona and pretentious match-making are stray arrows that never hit dead center the target of real love.
Extravagant Valentine
What if there’s a Valentine’s Day, and love, unlike any we’ve ever known?
Perhaps your memory bank holds a special Valentine’s Day. One that’s near and dear to your heart. Maybe a special someone entered your life, you received a marriage proposal from the love of your life, or your spouse went over the top to celebrate your love. Even a sweet childhood memory may still captivate us.
Or, your memories surrounding this love-holiday uncover feelings of emptiness or a lack of love. Memories from childhood to the present you’d rather forget. Because many of us have experienced both highs and lows regarding Valentine’s Day and regarding love.
But the most lavish, epic and monumental Valentine’s Day to ever take place in history, celebrates the best kind of love—extravagant love.
First, let’s look at what love is and what love is not.
The Bible contains some of the most powerful and beautiful words ever penned on love.
Perhaps your memory bank holds a special Valentine’s Day. One that’s near and dear to your heart. Maybe a special someone entered your life, you received a marriage proposal from the love of your life, or your spouse went over the top to celebrate your love. Even a sweet childhood memory may still captivate us.
Or, your memories surrounding this love-holiday uncover feelings of emptiness or a lack of love. Memories from childhood to the present you’d rather forget. Because many of us have experienced both highs and lows regarding Valentine’s Day and regarding love.
But the most lavish, epic and monumental Valentine’s Day to ever take place in history, celebrates the best kind of love—extravagant love.
First, let’s look at what love is and what love is not.
The Bible contains some of the most powerful and beautiful words ever penned on love.
Tip: save the image above to your phone or tablet and use as a screensaver.
What Love is Not
God’s Word helps us wrap our heads around this kind of love through compare and contrast from 1 Corinthians 13.
Love is not: envious, boastful, proud, dishonoring to others, self-seeking, easily angered, keeping a record of wrongs and delighting in evil.
I don’t know about you, but my human nature struggles with all these.
Yet, God’s extravagant love remains our only hope for overcoming these unloving attributes. And when we truly live the crucified life—Jesus living in and through us—the Spirit wins over our flesh more and more often.
Love is not: envious, boastful, proud, dishonoring to others, self-seeking, easily angered, keeping a record of wrongs and delighting in evil.
I don’t know about you, but my human nature struggles with all these.
Yet, God’s extravagant love remains our only hope for overcoming these unloving attributes. And when we truly live the crucified life—Jesus living in and through us—the Spirit wins over our flesh more and more often.
What Love is
1 Corinthians 13 clarifies the wonderful qualities of extravagant love.
Love is: patient, kind, rejoicing with the truth, protective, trusting, hopeful, persevering and unfailing.
Although our Lord remains the only one to perfectly love as described here, Paul penned these words through the Holy Spirit. And the letter was for the church in Corinth and for God’s people today.
The heavenly Father never left us hanging by only cuing us in on how not to love. No, the Creator of love always wanted us to know and show real love.
Love is: patient, kind, rejoicing with the truth, protective, trusting, hopeful, persevering and unfailing.
Although our Lord remains the only one to perfectly love as described here, Paul penned these words through the Holy Spirit. And the letter was for the church in Corinth and for God’s people today.
The heavenly Father never left us hanging by only cuing us in on how not to love. No, the Creator of love always wanted us to know and show real love.
Karen Friday is a regular contributor to our magazine: Sweet To The Soul FAITH, click below for info.
Extravagant Love Story
Merriam-Webster online defines extravagant: “exceeding the limits of reason or necessity; lacking in moderation, balance, and restraint; extremely or excessively elaborate, unreasonably high in price; spending beyond what is necessary.”
Have you ever experienced this kind of Valentine’s day?
Whether you have or not, a time in history marks the most extravagant love-day ever. It exceeded reason and showed no restraint and came at a high price.
Have you ever experienced this kind of Valentine’s day?
Whether you have or not, a time in history marks the most extravagant love-day ever. It exceeded reason and showed no restraint and came at a high price.
Most Extravagant Valentine’s Day Ever
When God drew back his bow, he hit dead center the target of real love. Jesus' heart was pierced for me and you on Calvary's cross. A day of love. The most extravagant Valentine’s Day in history.
I accepted this extravagant love at sixteen. My heart’s been pierced with an arrow of enduring love that Cupid knows nothing about. The piercing love of someone who really gets me. He understands me and loves me, for me and as me.
One who asked me to be his. And he promised to hold me dear to his heart forever.
He pursued me with a proposal, “Will you be mine?” Accepting his invitation, I instantly became his daughter, friend, and sweet to his heart. Completely loved and never loveless again. Ever.
The valentine I’d always wanted to be, God’s.
How about you?
Jesus is calling, “Will you be mine?” Do you belong to Him? Do you know His love? He loves you with an everlasting love.
Blessings Soul Friends,
I accepted this extravagant love at sixteen. My heart’s been pierced with an arrow of enduring love that Cupid knows nothing about. The piercing love of someone who really gets me. He understands me and loves me, for me and as me.
One who asked me to be his. And he promised to hold me dear to his heart forever.
He pursued me with a proposal, “Will you be mine?” Accepting his invitation, I instantly became his daughter, friend, and sweet to his heart. Completely loved and never loveless again. Ever.
The valentine I’d always wanted to be, God’s.
How about you?
Jesus is calling, “Will you be mine?” Do you belong to Him? Do you know His love? He loves you with an everlasting love.
Blessings Soul Friends,
Karen
Dive Deeper
Write out each of the following Scriptures and then highlight or underling what each tells you about God's extravagant love for you.
- “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” Jeremiah 31:3b (ESV)
- “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (ESV)
- “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
- Romans 5:8 (ESV)
- “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10 (NIV)
Resources
You Are So Loved: Knowing God's Love and Loving Others is a go at your own pace Bible Study Journal from Jana Kennedy-Spicer and Betsy de Cruz. We love our cars. We love our sports teams. We love our favorite restaurant. We love chocolate. In a world where the word love has become common, how can we know genuine love? We can know God. We can know God's love and through him, love others.
Karen Friday is passionate about showing others they are never far from hope. To discover an undeniable hope in an uncertain world, visit her website, Hope is Among Us, at KarenGirlFriday.com
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