Tom's Message: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Hey, everyone!
Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!
It must be so cool to have a holiday named after you!!
February 14 has been Val’s day for centuries!!
(Actually, it’s “Saint Valentine’s Day”…well, actually-actually, it’s officially the “Feast of Saint Valentine”)
In the liturgical calendar of ancient church traditions, many days of the year have a special follower of Jesus who is remembered every year on his or her special date!
For example, March 17 is dedicated to Saint Patrick, who took the Good News of Jesus to Ireland…
And December 6 is the Feast of Saint Nicolas (the “jolly ol’” was added later!)…
Yesterday was the Feast of Saint Modesto and tomorrow is dedicated to Saint Faustino!
To became famous, all today’s saint had to do was to tell someone he loved them!
So, apparently in ancient Roman times, the emperor didn’t want his soldiers to get married so they could feel more free to take orders without thinking about their sweethearts…
Valentino (as they called him in his hometown in Italia!) was a pastor who kept on doing secret weddings for secret followers of Jesus in spite of what Emperor Claudius ordered…until our brave and romantic saint was arrested by Judge Asterius…who happened to have a daughter who was blind.
The plot thickens…
(and sweetens!)…
when the prisoner and the judge’s daughter bonded in friendship over their mutual love of beekeeping!
Soon, she was in Christ, they were in love, and he was still in trouble with her dad until the day Valentine healed his beekeeping girlfriend!
(In case you were wondering, the word “honeymoon” DOES come from this story!)
Some say Asterius opened his heart to Jesus when Jesus opened his beloved child’s eyes…as well as his! But he had no power to stop the sentence of the emperor and on the night before he would enter Heaven…
February 13, 269 ad…
Valentino wrote his last love note to his bride-to-not-be and signed it, “Your Valentine”!
And the rest is, as they say, Hallmark history.
Someone said “I love you” to someone and became a saint!
“Wait! That’s not how you become a saint! I learned ‘saints’ are those who believe in Jesus! Like those letters say ‘to the saints in Philippi’ or ‘to the saints in Ephesus’ or ‘to the saints in Colossae’! All you have to do to be a saint is to believe in Him!”
Totally!
Jesus offers the greatest gift!
A new beginning!
A new life!
A new…You!
And like a gift, it’s completely free!
And all we had to do to have it was to need it…to want it…and to take it!
ALL because He loved you and me!
ALL because He wanted you and me!
And ALL because He paid for you and me!
ALL because He gave His own precious blood for you and me!
And ALL because His love is like “my honeycomb with my honey!” (Song of Songs 5:1)
And ALL you have to do is believe!
To believe He is like that!
To believe He did that for you!
To believe He feels that way for you!
And in the believing…
Don’t you just love Him?!
Ephesians 6:24 says, “May grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with unending love!”
(In fact, 1Corinthians 16:22 says if you don’t love Him, you don’t get it!)
“One sec! This seems to say you get grace if you love Jesus! I thought you just said all you have to do is BELIEVE!! I’m confused! Do you have to believe Him? Or do you have to love Him??”
It’s all yours by faith! Just by believing in Him!
But if you believe Him, you’ll love Him!
It’s guaranteed!
If you do…you will!
So you actually do become a saint like Saint Valentine did!
By telling Someone you love Him!