The greatest love letters of all

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

When I was much younger, I used to think that Valentine's Day was a very special and important day only for couples, and I would dream of the perfect Valentine's Day celebration - a romantic candlelight dinner followed by a quiet walk on the beach. This went on for many years every time February 14 came along. However, there was only one problem, someone was missing. I did not have that special someone to celebrate all this with. And well, I still do not but I believe God has prepared him for me and when the time is right, he will appear. However, I digress.

Anyway, looking back now, I laugh at myself for being so silly - silly for thinking that Valentine's Day is only for couples for I could not have been more wrong. While it is common for us to see couples expressing their love for each other on this special day, there is also nothing wrong to express our love to our family members or friends. For all the fuss couples around the world make over Valentine's Day, the whole essense of this day is to celebrate love, and love, as we know, comes in many forms. However, one of the greatest forms of love that we often forget is the sacrificial love of God who loved the world so much that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for the sins of the world (John 3:16). And along with His love, He also gave us the most wonderful "love letter" of all - the Bible.

While greeting cards are usually used by couples to express their love to one another, the Bible is God's way of expressing His amazing love to us. The words of the Bible tells us of the "love letter" God sent to us 2,000 years ago in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ (1 John 4:10).

The purpose for Jesus coming to earth as Man was to die, to be sacrificed and to give His life for ours. This was all part of God's plan and it was written in red - written with "the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." ( 1 Peter 1:19).

Long before a day in February was set aside to celebrate love, the world received a love letter - a precious love letter that changed everything.

"Nothing speaks more clearly of God's love than the cross of Jesus Christ."

Our Daily Bread, 14 February, 2009