TAGLINE: GOD’S LOVE IS NOT A REACTION TO OUR GOODNESS - IT IS THE RESCUE OF OUR BROKENNESS.
OPENING ILLUSTRATION: THE EMPTY CHAIR
A hospice chaplain once told the story of an elderly man who kept an empty chair beside his bed. When asked why, the man said, “My daughter thinks it’s for visitors. But it’s really for Jesus. I keep it there to remind myself that His love is the only love that has never left me.”
He paused and added, “People come and go. Feelings rise and fall. But that chair reminds me that the love of Christ is the only love that has stayed.”
Valentine’s Day celebrates the LOVES THAT ENTER OUR LIVES. The gospel celebrates the LOVE THAT NEVER LEAVES.
TEXT: 1 JOHN 4:9–10
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world… not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Valentine’s Day magnifies a truth every human heart already knows: we were CREATED FOR LOVE, ACHE FOR LOVE, and are SHAPED BY THE LOVE WE PURSUE.
But Scripture confronts us with a deeper reality: human love is fragile, but God’s love is faithful; human love is conditional, but God’s love is covenantal; human love is often reactive, but God’s love is initiating.
This is the Bible’s definition of love—not a feeling, not a holiday, not a romance, but a revelation.
WHAT DOES GOD’S LOVE DEMONSTRATE?
1. GOD’S LOVE IS INITIATING — “NOT THAT WE LOVED GOD…”
Valentine’s Day often celebrates mutual affection: “You love me, and I love you.” But God’s love begins in a different place: HE LOVED US WHEN WE DID NOT LOVE HIM.
• Before we prayed a prayer
• Before we cleaned up our lives
• Before we desired Him
• Before we even acknowledged Him
God MOVED TOWARD US.
Human love often waits for a spark. God’s love creates the spark.
Human love responds to BEAUTY. God’s love responds to BROKENNESS.
Human love says, “I love you because…” God’s love says, “I love you in spite of…”
This is the LOVE THAT FOUND US FIRST.
ILLUSTRATION: A shepherd does not wait for a lost sheep to find its way home. He leaves the ninety-nine and goes after the one. The rescue begins with the shepherd, not the sheep. God’s love is NOT A RESPONSE TO OUR GOODNESS. It is the RESCUE OF OUR LOSTNESS.
Valentine’s Day says: “LOVE IS MUTUAL.”
The gospel says: “LOVE IS MERCIFUL.”
2. GOD’S LOVE IS MANIFEST — “GOD SENT HIS SON…”
Love is not proven by words but by WOUNDS. Not by sentiment but by SACRIFICE.
God did not send:
• An angel
• A prophet
• A message
• A symbol
He sent HIS SON.
The CROSS is God’s Valentine to the world—written not in ink but in BLOOD.
On Valentine’s Day, people give gifts to show AFFECTION.
God gave the greatest gift to show REDEMPTION.
He did not love us from a distance. He loved us into the world, into our condition, into our sin, into our death, and out of the grave.
ILLUSTRATION: A lighthouse is not built to be admired from afar—it is built to be seen in the storm. Its purpose is NOT DECORATION BUT DIRECTION. It shines so sailors know where safety is. God’s love is not hidden in heaven. It shines in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the lighthouse in our storm, the visible proof that God has not abandoned us.
Valentine’s Day says: “SHOW LOVE WITH GIFTS.”
The gospel says: “GOD SHOWED LOVE WITH HIS SON.”
3. GOD’S LOVE IS COSTLY — “TO BE THE PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS.”
This is the part of love our culture avoids.
We want love without holiness. Affection without accountability. Warmth without repentance. Comfort without the cross.
But God’s love is not indulgent—it is intervening. Not permissive—it is purifying. Not sentimental—it is sacrificial. Christ did not die as an example—He died as a substitute.
PROPITIATION MEANS:
• Sin is real
• Wrath is real
• Judgment is real
• And Jesus stepped into all of it
Love does not ignore sin; love pays for it. Love does not excuse brokenness; love heals it. Love does not affirm darkness; love enters it with light.
This is NOT HALLMARK LOVE. This is HOLY LOVE.
ILLUSTRATION: A judge who steps down from the bench, removes his robe, and takes the sentence in place of the guilty. He does not merely sympathize—he SUBSTITUTES. That is what Jesus did. This is LOVE THAT BLEEDS. This is LOVE THAT SAVES.
Valentine’s Day says: “LOVE FEELS GOOD.”
The gospel says: “LOVE PAYS THE PRICE.”
4. GOD’S LOVE IS TRANSFORMING — “IF GOD SO LOVED US…”
The logic of Scripture is simple: Received love becomes reflected love.
When God’s love truly enters your life:
• You stop demanding from people what only God can give
• You stop treating relationships as idols
• You stop measuring your worth by who chooses you
• You start loving others from fullness, not emptiness
• You forgive because you’ve been forgiven
• You serve because you’ve been served by Christ
Valentine’s Day often magnifies LONELINESS or DISAPPOINTMENT.
The gospel magnifies a LOVE THAT CANNOT BE LOST.
APPLICATION: WHAT THIS LOVE MEANS TODAY
(i) FOR THE MARRIED
• YOUR SPOUSE IS NOT YOUR SAVIOR.
• YOUR MARRIAGE IS NOT YOUR IDENTITY.
• YOUR COVENANT IS A CANVAS FOR GOD’S LOVE.
ILLUSTRATION: A mirror reflects what it receives. When your marriage receives God’s love, it reflects God’s love.
(ii) FOR THE SINGLE
You are NOT WAITING FOR LOVE—you are ALREADY LOVED WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE.
ILLUSTRATION: A diamond is valuable whether it sits in a jeweler’s case or on someone’s finger. Your worth is not determined by your relationship status.
(iii) FOR THE WOUNDED
• GOD SEES THE HEARTBREAK.
• GOD KNOWS THE BETRAYAL.
• GOD UNDERSTANDS THE LONELINESS.
ILLUSTRATION: A broken bone, when healed, becomes stronger at the fracture point. God can make your broken places the strongest parts of your testimony.
(iv) FOR THE CHURCH
The WORLD IS STARVING FOR REAL (AUTHENTIC) LOVE.
We are CALLED TO EMBODY THE LOVE THAT SAVED US.
ILLUSTRATION: A lighthouse does not argue with the storm—it simply shines. The church does not argue with the culture—it LOVES WITH TRUTH AND GRACE.
SO, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Valentine’s Day is not about celebrating human romance—it is about REMEMBERING DIVINE REDEMPTION.
The world says, “Find someone who completes you.” The gospel says, “You are complete in Christ.”
The world says, “Follow your heart.” The gospel says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart.”
The world says, “Love is a feeling.” The gospel says, “Love is a cross.”
May this day not inflate our expectations of people but DEEPEN OUR ADORATION OF GOD.
