Be My Valentine
John 3:16
I was thinking about love this week. No because I wanted too ,but because Dorothy suggested that tit would be a good topic this week. Since Valentines day is just a few days away. I thought back to my elementary school days down in Douglasville. Beulah Elementary and maybe the 3rd or 4th grade .
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I remember making valentines in class. I believe they were primarily for my mom. The red construction paper cut into the shape of a heart. The white lacey paper that was glued around the edge. I don’t remember being too neat. I do seem to remember being excited to take it home.
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I also remember filling in the to and from on valentines that my mom bought from the store. The little ones with the catchy sayings and they each came with a little envelope. I also remember that I had to make one for every member of my class. It did not matter if I actually liked the person or not.
Sometimes, I would choose particular valentines for certain people. I especially remember searching the box of cards for the perfect valentine for that very special person… My teacher.
I always started with the teacher card, doing as neat a job as I possibly could. I liked to make points with my teachers.
Unfortunately, my hand writing has never improved.
Occasionally, I would mark out or changed words on the card not wanting any girl to get the mistaken idea.
Then on the day closest to Valentines Day we delivered the cards to people’s desks or boxes or bags along the wall. The girl’s mail boxes were heavily decorated with harts and lace and lots of red. The boys if they could get away with it might only have their name and always had the minimum.
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I remember later days in high school. Ordering a flower from a school club to be delivered to my sweet heart, perhaps some candy in the heart shaped box.
I seem to remember spending most and sometimes all I had to get the best gifts and card I could.
Love can make you do some strange things. It can make you act crazy. It can make you take risk that a more sane person would never consider.
I had one additional deep thought this week. The more I thought about love the more I remembered how much it can hurt.
I hope that ya’ll can remember that painful feeling of young love. If you were shy, like me, sometimes it was hidden deep inside of you. Perhaps only exposed when you looked, at a distance, toward that person that caught your eye. A silent crush where it was obvious that the other person did not even know you were alive, much less suspect that you liked them.
Others may remember rejection from a person that they liked. Love is an unrealistic emotion that has the ability to cause a physical pain when it is rejected or made fun of.
--Today we are talking about God’s valentine.
SLIDE 6 (Natural Valentine)
It is similar to a valentine card that you might purchase or make this week. They normally have short or simplified statements of love and friendship.
I can not think of a Valentine I have ever seen that would actually express the love I have for Renee.
SLIDES 7 – 11 (Last funny)
Love is more complex than a catchy slogan on a colorful card.
Be mine, True Love, Be My valentine all fall short of how I feel, but since I don’t know how to express it myself in words. The extra price of a Hallmark card, all too often, has to do . Even a gift of jewelry is unable to really describe love. I can only hope that the depth of my feelings are understood from any “off the rack” gesture.
--- The scripture today is probably the most quoted scripture ever. You see on TV normally as a sign in the bleachers at ball games.
Many people can say it with you if you start to quote it.
I would venture to guess that if you ask a random person what John 3:16 says they could give an accurate paraphrase if they have ever spent any time in church.
John 3:16 is the simplified statement of the Gospel.
SLIDE (God)
I consider this scripture to a valentine, the words are powerful and the meaning is deep beyond words, however the statement is brief.
SLIDE 12 (Scripture)
16“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.
-- That is the statement of the gospel in a nut shell.
You can print on a card with a lovely image and mail it to someone you want to give the hint to. It can be whispered on a plane or at a restaurant. It can be a conversation starter, to test the waters before you jump into a full description of Jesus Christ.
But this little scripture represents a whole lot more. It is a statement that tries to explain the heart of God.
For God so loved the World, perhaps we need to address this valentine a little more personally.
For God so loved Tom…..
For God so loved Amy,
For God so loved Peggy,
For God so loved Eric
For God so loved military personnel,
and babies,
and the elderly
and the sick,
and students,
and politicians,
and lawyers,
and IRS agents,
and abortionist,
and liars,
and drug dealers,
and terrorist,
and it goes on and on.
God so loved THE WORLD
It is important that we understand that the word “world” in our scripture is not limited to people like us…
It means every person no matter how undeserving they may appear to us. God Loves them!
That he gave his only son,
That he gave his most precious possession,
That he gave all his money…. Baseball card collection…. Last M&M…
When God loves, he places everything at risk. The love he feels for us hurts and causes physical and emotional pain.
Folks, there are a lot of people that I would risk my health and maybe my life for. There is even a chance that is true for any of you in this room depending on the circumstances.
Love makes you do some strange and risky things.
However, I can not think of a single person in the world that I would risk Renee or my children’s lives for.
If there was some way for me to take the risk that James is facing this year on me, I would do it with only minimum hesitation. But he like so many other young people is making his on choices. Giving of himself because it is his choice to make. He and so many others are choosing to protect their families and in a way every person in our country.
Each of us makes choices about what we will do for others everyday.
God chose to give his son. Folks that is expensive and sort of crazy and I fear I am not worth the cost that He has paid.
I want to go back to the memories of young love again.
When I looked at cards I received in my mail sack, I sometimes noticed an underlined word or a hand drawn heart occasionally added to one of the valentines.
I wondered what it meant. Did it mean anything? Did this person intend to send me a message?
I remember the feeling I got when someone said that some other boy or girl “liked” me. Most of the time it was Excitement, uncertainty, happiness.
Sometimes I would ask, “How do you know? So and so told me that they do….
Really… They like me?”
I am a gullible guy. If it looked like some girl “liked” me… Then I normally “liked” them back.
I learned to be more careful over time. I got burned a few times and my chocolate milk budget went down the tubes because their “like” was more for chocolate milk and less about me.
God’s valentine to us and the “rumors” we hear from the scriptures, indicate that He likes, … No it is much more than that…. He LOVES Us and is looking for a response from us.
“that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Webster defines a valentine as, “a gift or greeting sent to someone “special.”
God has sent to this world a valentine, a message of the love that He has for all mankind.
God’s message of love is so real that He takes all the risk. His son pays the physical and emotional price and we receive eternal life.
You need to know the rumors are true!
God thinks we are special. There is no need to doubt because God’s love is mature and constant even when we are full of doubts and fickle.
Even if we take the chocolate milk and ignore his attention.
Even if we say get lost and walk away.
He will constantly watch you from a distance and wait for another opportunity to express His love to and for you.
Here is the real point of our time this morning.
While God is faithful we are not always able or willing to match the devotion that He shows us.
I find that to be true in my marriage as well. Every now and then, I open my eyes and realize that I let my love for Renee fall in importance. I let all kinds of junk get in the way of showing her I love her on a continuous basis.
I take our relationship for granted and in reality, I get selfish.
I like the fact that clean socks magically appear in the drawer and that clean clothes appear on hangers in my closet.
I take a lot of things that require time and hard work for granted. I don’t automatically do my share of chores and even fail give a much deserved acknowledgement for the things that are done for me.
It gets way too easy to act as if I am entitled to be served because of a commitment made some time ago and just expect to be pampered with little or not return on my part.
I all too often fail to keep a balance in our relationship.
I have excuses like, I am tired, I worked late, or I don’t feel so well.
I make excuses cover up the fact that I like to be spoiled. I like getting good stuff with less effort on my part.
Is there a chance that you are guilty of the same thing in your relationship with God?
Compare how you feel and act today with what you remember about the first few years after you received and responded to God’s valentine. God’s invitation to receive God’s Grace and Mercy!
-- I will guess that you feel and act differently now.
Who changed in this relationship?
Who is taking whom for granted?
Folks, all of us that claim to be Christians need to understand that if we are followers of Christ ,we are automatically givers of love.
In a way, we are the continuation of God’s original valentine. We are the living body of Jesus Christ.
We are called to love deeply, emotionally, and to take risk with our love.
That means that we show our love of others in the name of Christ.
Not with an “if I love you, you should love me kind of expectation.”
But with an “I love you because God loves you and I will no matter what the response.”
Isn’t that how we understand God’s love?
If we are taking what Christ has done for granted, if we are not excited about our relationship with him, then we will stop doing the things that show our love.
Folks, my love for God and my love for you can see that there is some attention missing in our relationship with God.
We as a church have been enjoying special treatment , special blessing, from our first love. We were excited by the extravagance of his valentine and readily accepted his love.
Our hearts pounded in our chest and we could not wait to go places together. We dressed up and put on smell good stuff. We held open doors open and paid attention to the relationship. We read scripture and prayed with the love songs in our hearts.
As time passed, I fear that we all became too comfortable and our relationship routine. And now we are going through the motions. Doing the minimum, just enough to get by. We offer little or no risk of our love or abilities in the name of Christ.
We don’t show any excitement about our love, the kind of excitement that other people notice. The difficulty in holding back a smile or joy because of the love in your heart.
We are taking our God for granted, accepting his gifts and expecting the fulfillment of promises. We willing to receive everything He offers with little or no intention of giving back. We spend little or no time on improving the relationship. Little or no expression of devotion that the world would notice .
The kind of expression that says, I am in love and I hope you are too.
Folks, everyone of us needs to give and receive love. I hope you will think about this valentine from God and acknowledge his gifts in your prayers. That you will search for His heart in the Bible.
I have a little home work for you this week, take time this afternoon or tomorrow the re-read 1 Corinthians 13.
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Then consider being a living valentine from God to the people that God places in your path.
All Glory be to God!
