Be Mine!

I remember celebrating Valentines Day in the good old days when I attended elementary school. Life was pretty simple. Before we left for school in the morning my parents never missed a Valentines Day opportunity to give us the little heart shaped boxes filled with Sees candy and a nice card. After we got to school I remember celebrating Valentines Day in class by passing around cute little cards with Fred and Wilma Flintstone and Dino on them that said “Be Mine!” and little candy hearts and chocolate.



We had a sugar “hangover” for a couple of days after “consuming mass quantities” of normally forbidden candy. It must have been a horrible experience for my teachers.

Today as adults we still celebrate with candy, flowers, and sometimes with a fun evening out. Either way, whether in school or at home, we are celebrating what it feels like to be loved. We want others to know we care for them and desire to be with them. And, we are celebrating what if feels like to have others care for us and desire to be with us. But, most of the time, these valentines left me feeling hollow inside.

What left me hollow was the ramp up for Valentines Day. I had a strategy; every year, when I passed out my valentines I always had a list. I ranked my classmates, always giving the best cards and treats to those who were my “real” friends. I gave the left-overs to those I tolerated or didn’t care that much for. And, if I ran out, then the people near the bottom of the list didn’t deserve gifts or candy anyhow. Never once did I go out in search of the perfect valentine card for someone I had a fight with earlier in the year, or someone I was competing against for a spot on the football or softball team, or the guy who hit me in the head with the dodge ball every day at recess. They were always at the bottom of the list.

Lately I have begun to understand that we already have the best valentine of all, God’s Word. The Bible is God’s love story between Himself and his creation. God desired to have fellowship and share His creation with another being, and he created us from the dust just to be with us. Since the creation of Adam and Eve we have constantly turned our backs on God, and given Him less than He deserves, but He continues to pour His love out on us, desires to be with us, and cares for us. God’s Word is the only true valentine; the only one that doesn’t leave us feeling hollow. Over the last year this concept has grown on me a lot. When I read the Word of God, whether it is in Genesis or Revelation, I now hear God say over and over again, “Be Mine”, “I Desire You”, “I Care For You”. We are not the left-overs, we are all at the top of God’s valentine list. We don’t get the crumbs, but the full-course of God’s love. Valentines Day now serves as my day of reinforcement of how much the Creator of the Universe loves and cares for me. I heard Him say several times this morning as I was reading His Word, “I love you”, “I want you”, “I desire You”, “Be Mine!”