1 John 4:8 (NIV)
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Get ready – Friday is Valentine’s Day. There will be cards, candy, flowers, dinners, jewelry, and other gifts exchanged. According to an article in the Sacramento Business Journal, “The average man plans to spend $108.38 on his significant other, while the average woman plans to spend $49.41 on hers.” Overall, there will be about $3.9 billion spent for Valentine’s Day.

I remember my days in elementary school waiting to see if a certain girl would put a Valentine card in my box – a shoebox that I had carefully designed and constructed for fellow classmates to put cards and candy in. Turning the shoebox into a Valentine card box normally took me about 10 minutes just before bedtime the night before the big day.

This was before it became the rule that everyone had to give and receive a Valentine’s card.

I would wait patiently and then open the box and look for her card to see if she wrote those five all-important words, “Will You Be My Valentine?”

I was never brave enough to face her and say, “Why yes, I will be your valentine! Thank you for asking.”

Of course other girls wrote those same words on the cards they put into my box – and I wrote those words on several cards. Then around fifth grade, you could buy the cards with those five words already printed on them. It was really pretty simple back then. A couple dollars for the cards and some candy and you were set for the big day.

Some Christians have a problem with Valentine’s Day. I don’t. I think that any day set aside to show love to one another is just fine. We could use more days like that.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

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