How nice it is to receive a card or letter from a friend or a loved one. To be thought of by another is always meaningful to us. The card received may have a preprinted message or sentiment and may be quite serious or humorous in nature. Have you ever considered the meaning that is really being conveyed when such a card is sent? Perhaps the sender is saying, “I love you,” “I accept you,” “I appreciate you,” or “You are special to me.”
Almost two thousand years ago, God sent His message of love in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Without question, Jesus was the visible evidence of God’s love for us. God did not just say, “I love you,” but proved it by what He did.
In His private meeting with Nicodemus, the religious ruler of the Jews, Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
The world, though so undeserving, is still the recipient of God’s eternal love, for Jesus Christ was “…the atonement for our sins; and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world.”
To all who have received Christ Jesus as the greatest expression of God’s love, there is a message that runs much deeper than our salvation alone. That message is twofold.
First, God is saying to us, “I accept you.” We must understand that God, as a righteous and holy God, could never overlook our sin. But He did look beyond our sin and has accepted us in His beloved Son, who bore our sins in His own body on the cross.
Secondly, God’s expression of love through His Son tells us that we are special. Now, there is no need to become puffed up with pride over that bit of knowledge, because in and of ourselves we are nothing. It was while we were still in our sinful state that Christ died for us. He gave us His all that He might redeem us from the curse of sin. He saved us to be “…the Pearl of great price, the treasure buried in the field.” Though the cost of our redemption would be great to Him, He gave His all.
The next time you receive a greeting card, receive it not only as an expression of love from the one who sent it, but also be reminded of the love that flows from the heart of God to you. As we think of the message He conveyed in the sending of His own Son, may we know that there is nothing in this world, or out of this world, that will ever make God stop loving you. God is in essence saying to us, “Valentine, Be Mine!”
Jerry L. Dunn is pastor of Oak Street Baptist Church, Kingman.
