ALT-3 The Truth behind Valentines Day
What is Valentine's Day, and why do we celebrate it? Valentine's Day commemorates the death of two Christian martyrs, both named Valentine, who were killed on February 14th. One was a priest and and a physician and the other was a bishop. They were both beheaded on the Fleminian Way in Rome, one around 269 A.D., and the other in a later year. The Bible says that "no greater love hath a man than to lay down his life for another." I guess we will all agree then, that Valentine's Day is a celebration of love. It's the one day a year set aside to let our family and friends know that we love them. Isn't that a sad thought....to have to set aside a certain day to let someone know that you love them?
Like so many other holidays, Valentine's Day has become one of the most commercialized holidays, second only to Christmas. Every year people spend a lot of money on candy, flowers and jewelry to show how much they love someone. Don't get me wrong, those things are great. I mean, what woman wouldn't want to get a big bouquet of flowers or a big box of candy? But, what happens when the flowers have died and been thrown away and the candy has been eaten? And what happens the day after Valentine's Day? I wonder.....if you bought that person a three cent piece of bubble gum and wrote, "I love you" on it, instead of a twenty-five dollar box of candy or an expensive piece of jewelry? Would that person feel just as loved? I guess that would depend on how you make that person feel the rest of the year. If that person doesn't feel loved the rest of the year, it would take a hundred dollar bracelet to convince them.
If we love someone, they shouldn't have to be convinced. They should know it all the time, not just on Valentine's Day. What good does it do to love soneone if that person doesn't know it? I like the old saying, "Love is not love until you give it away". Love is not a commodity to be bought and sold. It has to be given freely, no strings attached. Mr. Webster agrees with me. He says that love is "concern that freely accepts another in loyalty and seeks his good." The most perfect example of love is found in the first thirteen words of the most well known verse of the Bible.....John 3:16...."For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son". This is unselfish, unconditional love that transcends time, race, creed, color and price. God did not give everyone in the world a big expensive car or a million dollars. He gave a gift far more precious than gold. He gave his only son.
I'm not suggesting that we all go out immediately and make a sacrifice to prove how much we love someone. What I'm saying is that we should approach love with an unselfish and unconditional attitude. I love you period. You don't have to be rich or handsome. You don't have to buy me expensive presents or flatter me all the time. I love you because you are you. God shows his love for us everyday. It is in the flowers, the trees, the sunshine, the miracle of birth, friendship and a warm smile from someone when we are feeling down. Can you look at a sunset or feel a cool gentle breeze on your face on a hot day, or see the rain falling on a sun-parched garden and not feel loved? We take these things for granted, but it's the simple little everyday things that count.
So should it be with us. We should prove our love every day by the simple little everyday things we do. Valentine's Day should be an extension of the love you feel for someone all year. It should be a special way of showing your love. Special does not mecessarily mean expensive. One red rose will say just as much as a whole dozen, expecailly when you put a personal touch on it, like a note that says, "I am sending you only one rose, because there is on one that I love".
