Be Mine

Confession: I’ve never been a fan of Valentine’s Day. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for romance or buying my wife things or trying to woo someone with smooth lines and/or suave moves. What I’m not for, however, is the manipulation that could come from Valentine’s day, the expectations of being swept off one’s feet, or the disappointment that could come when things aren’t absolutely perfect. Ain’t nobody got time for any of that.

Do we sometimes feel like God does that to us? Maybe manipulates us into doing stuff, dangling the promise of salvation in front of us as some sort of a bargaining chip? Or maybe guilting us by using ultimatum language? Or maybe scaring us into obedience with threads of eternal damnation?

Well, God doesn’t actually do that. Rather, God gives us everything before we can even do anything to deserve it. God may expect us to keep God’s word, but God also will continually forgive us when we obviously can’t. God doesn’t try to manipulate us to prove our love, but instead gives us a peace that the world cannot give: a peace in knowing that God will always love and forgive us regardless of how unromantic we could be!

God, thank you for giving us peace in knowing you love us more than we could ever understand. Amen. — NF