Today is Valentine’s Day—a day when the world celebrates love. For some, it’s a day of romance, chocolates, and flowers, For others, it may be a reminder of loneliness or heartache. The world often defines love as a feeling, an emotion that comes and goes based on circumstances. Love, according to culture, is something we give when it benefits us and withdraw when it no longer serves our desires. But is that what love truly is?
Scripture tells us that love is so much more than an emotion. Love is not merely something God does; love is who He is. 1 John 4:8 tells us: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” His love is not based on our worthiness, performance, or even our response. It is unconditional, sacrificial, and never-ending. Romans 5:8 reminds us, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Even when we were undeserving, God showed us love in the most powerful way—by giving His Son for us.
God’s love is radically different from the world’s love. The world says love those who love you back; God says love even your enemies (Matthew 5:44). The world says love when it’s convenient; God says love sacrificially. The world says love when it feels good; God’s love endures even in pain. Jesus didn’t just say He loved us—He showed it. Every action of His life was an expression of love, culminating in the greatest act of love: His death on the cross.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to love in this way. Not just with words, but with actions (1 John 3:18). Love is more than a Valentine’s card or a kind sentiment—it’s serving, forgiving, sacrificing, and choosing others above ourselves…over and over and over again. It’s extending grace to those who don’t deserve it and showing kindness even when it’s difficult. This kind of love doesn’t make sense to the world, but it is the love of Christ.
So today, on a day when love is celebrated, let’s examine our own hearts. Are we loving as Jesus loved? Is our love real, deep, and selfless, or is it merely surface-level and conditional? May we strive to love not as the world loves, but as God loves—genuinely, unconditionally, and sacrificially. Because in the end, true love is not found in a box of chocolates or a bouquet of roses, but in a God who gave everything to call us His own.
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