Valentines Day; What's the Point?

I’ve been considering Valentine’s Day recently. I've seen a few posts on the topic of Valentine’s Day that make me cringe. I see posts that go one way and seem to idolize an individual & the holiday OR people altogether reject the notion of celebrating Valentine’s Day at all. I myself traditionally have found Valentine’s Day to be a bit idolatrous & a waste. It's always seemed odd to me to feel pressured by culture and consumerism to buy inordinate amounts of goodies and presents for a person on ONE day out of the whole year and then it's over in regards to celebrating your love for one another. I’ve witnessed the dynamic of husbands scurrying to buy the perfect gift for their wife in an effort to make up for all the stuff they have or haven’t done throughout the year. That hasn't seemed right to me and therefore my outlook on Valentine’s Day has over time evolved into the way it is. However, this year as I grow in my understanding of life and my love for Bree, I find Valentine’s Day as a great opportunity to celebrate the FIRST act of love initiated by God in creating humanity in His image. Secondly, I celebrate Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection, which ultimately enables us to have a relationship with God, further enabling us to LOVE more purely our spouses and significant others. Without Christ we would not be able to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the way we are meant to. After all, isn’t Valentine’s Day a holiday to celebrate love? It’s love that is our focus, not people. It’s misunderstood as that since it is people we eventually pour our love out towards. BUT, we’ve lost our focus by excluding the most important factor in that love. I know without a doubt, if it weren't for Jesus and His grace in our marriage, Bree and I would not be where we are today. Jesus has sustained us in our marriage. And it hasn't been that He's empowered us to just "survive" but He's enabled us to "thrive." I encourage all of you to recognize Jesus and His love for you on this Valentine’s Day. AND men, I encourage you to recognize that Christ has called you to love your wives as Christ loves His church, laying down His pride, personal gain, glory on earth, & ultimately His life for you and me (Ephesians 5:25-33). It is by His example; men have something to shoot for on Valentine’s Day. I say celebrate Valentine’s Day! But temper your direct affections towards another human being and remember it is Christ who holds all of our relationships together in true LOVE. Celebrate your common love for Jesus and by that draw closer to each other. Find ways this Valentine’s Day to proclaim your love for Jesus as well as your spouse. Find ways that, together, you can celebrate, look back and remember what Christ has done in your marriage over the past year and maybe set some God-sized goals together for your marriage this next year. Make a goal to have a date once a month. Men, make a goal to buy your wife a flower or flowers once a month with some encouraging Bible Verses attached with a card. Women, make a goal to write your husband notes of encouragement with scripture on it once a week or month. Set some visions together for what you will do throughout this next year to celebrate your love for one another & children through Christ, and also set some individual goals that your spouse doesn't know about. Hopefully this will give you a reason to celebrate Valentines this year that can honor the true meaning of LOVE.