Loved by God

You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.  -1 Peter 2:9-10

Let’s start there. This Scripture text provides a list of beautiful names God calls you.

Chosen.

Royal.

Holy.

Special possession.

A person of God who has received mercy.

His love for you is amazing!

If there was ever a holiday that messed with my self-esteem, it was this one: Valentine’s Day. As it approached every year, I wondered who would really show their affection towards me. Who would I show affection to? Oh, the pressure! And the disappointment when others didn’t live up to the expectations I was hoping for.

It was well into my 20s before I finally started having a different perspective. It didn’t have to be as Hallmark-y as society sometimes made it. It didn’t have to be all about cards filled with romantic phrases or conversation hearts with sweet little messages of affection. It didn’t have to be about how many yellow, pink or red roses a high schooler received from a secret (or not so secret) admirer. That’s a sure way to give an awkward teenager who is doubting the validity of her relationships a reason to question further when she didn’t receive any of the pretty flowers.

But then I saw something that made me begin to think differently.

This holiday didn’t have to be a romantic kind of love celebration that it has been for many people, which dates way back to the 5th century. For me, it didn’t even have to be about earthly relationships at all.

Rather, I could actually use this day as just another reminder of how much God loves me. Given this new perspective, it was also easier to hand out the sweet little cards with my own messages that focused on God’s love. Afterall, when the love of God and his message is in us, we can’t help but let it pour out of us.

We love because he first loved us. -1 John 4:19

Equipped with this fresh perspective, I was able to look forward to the holiday with anticipation of not what I would get, but what I could give to others.

Valentine’s Days throughout the years have included, yes, sweet-smelling flowers and cards with messages of love. But Valentine’s Days throughout the years have also included heart pancakes for the kids, sending a picture to our family of the kids using their bodies to spell “I ❤ U”, and our Sunday School students sending a little Valentine’s love to our church’s shut-ins.

The pressure is off.

Expectations are non-existent.

Instead, we can have fun showing God’s love to others because of who he called us to be. We don’t look to others to find our worth; we look to God and what he says about us.

There is a song written by a famous Christian artist. The lyrics go like this:

Sing it with your life
Sing with your heart, make melody with the words of your mouth
But mind that you listen, tell it to others, hear the chorus of faith
Live the chorus of faith!

Singing this song’s what life is about
And if you refuse the stones will cry out
We do not sing that we might be more blessed
He loves us with passion, without regret
He cannot love more and will not love less!
-Chorus of Faith by Michael Card

God cannot love you more (because he already loves you the absolute most he can!) And he will not love you less (because he is incapable of it!) You are his dearly loved! Live in that love today and always. Find your worth in Jesus. When you do that, you will see yourself and the people around you as God sees us – children worth loving.

We hope you had a great Son-day, a day filled with his grace and love, and surrounded by the people God blessed you with in this life!