| “How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!” (Psalm 36:7, NIV) Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. A holiday that is supposed to be a celebration of love. But what does this holiday in fact mean to people in our society, in our culture? Do we celebrate pure, selfless, unconditional, sacrificial love, or do we simply try to impress our significant other with our attention and gifts so that they would like us more? The latter motive does not necessarily preclude the former, but care should be taken lest we effectively attempt to “buy” love, even subconsciously. According to the U.S. National Retail Federation, a total of 27.4 billion U.S. dollars was expected to be spent on Valentine’s Day in the United States in 2020, with 55% of Americans planning to celebrate Valentine’s Day, with an average planned spending of about 200 dollars per person. It’s interesting to note that many of the sources quoting those stats title their articles something like, “Valentine’s Day: The Price of Love”. And such a headline probably doesn’t surprise many in our consumer-driven society. But can we really put a price tag on love? Or, should we say, if we can put a price tag on love, is that really love? Would you be worried if someone else could purchase your significant other’s love just by paying them more money than you can afford or by providing them with more attention than you can offer? That would be quite a scary and unstable relationship indeed! Thanks be to God our Father whose love is so drastically different from any kind of consumer-driven love. He loved us before we loved him. Moreover, he loved us when we were still his enemies (Romans 5:8). Nothing can separate us from his love (Romans 8:39). His love is the perfect example of laying down one’s life for his friends (John 15:13) and his love is unconditional from eternity past to eternity future (Jeremiah 31:3). When we celebrate our love with our significant other this Valentine’s Day, let us not lose sight of the Love that is so much more! Let us celebrate this indescribable gift of salvation, which is so unique in that it is priceless and free at the same time. It cost our God and Savior his very life, and yet it is given for free to everyone who receives it. – Alex Vergeychik |
Westlynn Baptist Church
1341 East 27th Street, North Vancouver
Phone: 604.986.4516
Email: info@westlynnbaptist.com
1341 East 27th Street, North Vancouver
Phone: 604.986.4516
Email: info@westlynnbaptist.com
Article by Alex Vergeychik
