Every February 14, the world celebrates Lover’s (Valentine) Day. It is a festival of romantic love, when people show feelings of love, affection and friendship. Many people around the world celebrate Valentine’s Day by showing appreciation for the people they love and adore in some social circles and culture by exchanges of candy, flowers and gifts. The history of Valentine’s Day and how this mysterious saint (Saint Valentine) became a grand patron of lovers is shrouded in mystery. However, many sources believed that it stems from the story of Saint Valentine, a Roman priest who was martyred on or around February 14 in the year 270 CE. Valentine, a romantic at heart, disobeyed Emperor Claudius 11’s decree that soldiers remain bachelors. Claudius handed down this decree believing single men made better soldiers than those married, with wife and children. Soldiers would be distracted and unable to stay vigilant and perform warrior duties if married or engaged. Valentine observing the injustice of the decree defied the order and secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young lovers. When Valentine’s secret actions were busted, he was put to death on February 14 on the order of the emperor. After Valentine’s death, he was named a saint and as Christianity spread, that day was named after him. The world today celebrates February 14 as lover’s day.
Surprisingly, as the world celebrates lover’s day in different dimensions, we live in hate, marginalization, segregation and wars. The consequences are homelessness, abuses of all kinds and destitutions. World people live in fears, turmoil’s, crises upon crises and uncertainties. We experience hunger, immoralities, greed’s walking along our streets. Divorces, separations, living lonely together become acceptable norms while alternative lifestyles attracting the sympathy of the simpleminded. These vices our media carry as news items we listen to and watch in wonder. It could be sensible and logical to pause and ask: what type of love is being celebrated? Even on this day of romance, called lover’s day, atrocities are committed in private and public places in the name of love. Instead of love, we find hate, discriminations, racism, tribalism and the celebration of new age idolatry.
Which love are we celebrating? Could it be a mixture of the 4 types: Eros, Phillo, agape and storgay, with a sour/bitter seasoning on the surface? With our mouth, we say, “I love you” but in our hearts or minds, we could mean, “I hate you.” We give “red flowers” in the morning and that same night we abuse our lovers and may even stab or kill him/her. We take our lovers to cruise and may end up drowning or cheating on her/him. Some claim to love their spouses but dread their parent and wish them death. The top of the bed is decorated with red rose (item of love) but under the same bed, hides a pistle (weapon of death). We say we love our spouses and yet disrespect them in the present of our children. We like to join the crowd and play the royal band but the place of true love is in private relationship with God and one another. No amount of show off outside can complement the lost of love (unity) inside. God measures our love to Him in the way we love one another. Apostle Paul advises Christians everywhere, all these gifts and cheap glories are good but there is a more excellent way……(1 Corinthians 12:31)
The best or more excellent way is Godly love (agape). Godly love is a conscious choice one makes – an action,… doing not an accident or infatuation. Love is a way of life; it’s an imitation of God. It stands alone, depending on nothing for its survival; should be the defining characteristic of Christians everywhere. Little wonder Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John13:35). Such love defines us in the eyes of those around us and not directed at just a person or selected few but the entire world. Love makes you want to show your affection /devotion to each other. It can make you do and sacrifice anything to make the person you love happy and show how much you care about them. Jesus answered to a Pharisaic attorney…..And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:36-40). Another version put it like this, “Love others as much as you love yourself” (CEV). The very essence of the law and the Prophet is to love God and to love others. Earlier, Jesus taught, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the Prophet (Matt 7:12).
Apostle Paul emphasized, “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:8-10). M. S. Lowndes writes on Godly love, “…..really, nothing compares to real, genuine, Godly love, Agape love. It does not matter how much of the gifts’ we are operating in – if we have not God’s love inside – it means nothing. Everything we do needs to come from a heart of real, genuine love.” Reflecting on 1 Corinthians 13, Lowndes said, “The outworking of this love in our everyday lives and relationship is in verses 4-8. Love is patient – never envious. Love is not inflated with pride, or rude. Love is not resentful. Love rejoices over truth prevailing. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes. Love believes the best of every person; endures everything without weakening. Love never fails or becomes obsolete. This is a true description of God’s love and often seen as a perfect description of how a loving Christian marriage should be.”
The heart of God and the gospel of Christ – is love. We need to operate out of Godly love to be effective in reaching out to this lost world. Christian love is giving to others those things that you would want them to give you if you were in their situation. Apostle James says, “If you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well” (James 2:8). God’s act of love in giving His Son defines the ultimate requirement of true love, the giving of our most beloved possession in sacrifice for another’s gain.” Three times Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love (sacrificial love) Me more than these? Peter, son of Jonah replied, “Yes Lord, You know that I love (brotherly love) you. On the second and third time, Jesus had dropped “more than these” which appeared to have lessened the requirement. Peter noticed that Jesus asked that same question thrice. He became grieved knowing that without the agape Jesus was referring to he can neither feed the lamb nor reach the world (John 21:15-17).
Human beings find it easy to love those who love them. The sacrificial love demands more than that; not only another life that has done good to you but even unfriendly friends or enemies. “Love your enemies and be good to everyone who hates you. Ask God to bless anyone who curse you and pray for everyone who is cruel to you” (vs. 27-28). Everyone, I guess struggle with this requirement including me. It is not natural and takes deliberate action to obey God’s Spirit within us. Jesus elaborates on this principle in Luke 6:30-36. “Let the beauty of God’s love fill the void inside so we’ll reflect the love of God to touch another life.” God is love and love comes from God. Love is evidence of new life in Christ; is unselfish and unconditional. Real love isn’t our love to God but His love for us. Since God loves us so much, we must love each other (1 John 4: 7ff). This is what lover’s day should strive to achieve………
Reach: Evangelist/Elder Ogbonnaya, Godswill at email: weefreeministries@yahoo.com or P. O. Box 720035, Houston, Texas, 77272; Web: www.weefreeministries.org; Call: 8328813929 (Cell).