This month we will celebrate Valentine’s Day. The origins of the modern Valentine’s Day are mostly legend. Legend has it St. Valentine was a priest who died defending marriage under a Roman emperor opposed to the practice. It is said that one night while performing and illegal marriage ceremony soldiers came and arrested him. He was thrown in jail and sentenced to death.

 

One day, he received a visit from the daughter of one of the prison guards. Her father allowed her to visit him in his cell and they often sat and talked for hours. She believed
he did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and performing weddings. On the day Valentine was to die, he left her a note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. He signed it, “Love from your Valentine.” That note started the custom of exchanging love notes on Valentine’s Day. It was written on the day he died, February 14, 269 A.D.—a day that was set aside in honor of a man who gave his life for God and for love. Now, every year on this day, people remember Saint Valentine, but most importantly, they think about love.

 

My question for you today is—how do we develop and nurture a love worth giving on Valentine’s Day and every day? Here are three things Jesus taught from John 12:9-17.

 

1. We have to Receive His Love – Verse 9: I have loved you     even as the Father has  loved me. Remain in my love.

 

 Jesus loves us completely, unwaveringly, and unconditionally. Nothing we do can ever separate us from the love he has for us. You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. You can’t do anything that will cause him to love you more or to love you less. He loves you! Receiving the love of Jesus and living in his love everyday, is the first and most essential step in having a love worth giving.

 

2. Respond To His Love – Verses 14-15: You are my friends     if you do what I  command. 15 I no longer call you slaves,       because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you         are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father       told me.

 

It’s one thing to say, “Jesus loves me.” It’s whole other thing to say, “I love Jesus.” Can you say that? Is your love for him reflected in how you live your life? We will never beable to love the people God has put in our lives, if we don’t start by loving God himself. Jesus said that the first and greatest command is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength (Mark 12:29-30).

 

3. Recycle His Love – Verse 17: This is my command: Love       each other.

 

Once we’ve receive the love of Jesus into our lives and respond to his love, then we’re ready to recycle that love—to share that love with the rest of the world. Jesus was very specific, though, about how we should love people – V. 12: This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

 

As we seek to grow in our capacity to love—to have a love truly worth giving—let’s continue to look to the heart of Jesus and learn to love like him.

 

Debbie and I want to wish all of you a very blessed and happy Valentine’s Day!

 

(You can hear the entirety of this message preached by Pastor Ralph on February 14, 2016)