Each year, on February 14th, we celebrate Valentines Day. It is a day that primarily focuses on romantic love — more chocolate, cards, and flowers, especially roses, are sold on Valentines Day than any other day of the year.
110 million roses
1 billion cards
35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate
3% of pet owners will even give their dog or cat a special valentines treat!
By the time dinner, wine, and a special gift is exchanged, Americans will have spent $650,000,000.00 on Valentine’s Day!
Needless to say, Valentine’s Day is a significant holiday in our calendar year.
SO WHO WAS VALENTINE?
Valentines Day is celebrated in honor of Saint Valentine.
Although there is not a lot of factual information about Valentine, he was most likely a pastor or bishop in a Roman province in northern Africa around 275 A.D.
In those days it was still illegal to be a Christian, let alone, lead a church.
Not only did Bishop/Pastor Valentine lead a church, but would also perform public wedding ceremonies for couples in love, and who wanted to be married under the authority and blessing of the Church.
Valentine was finally arrested, and eventually beheaded for his Christian beliefs and his unwavering commitment to perform public weddings for the Christian community.
There is a legend that describes Valentine healing the jailor’s daughter while imprisoned. Then wanting to encourage her in her newfound faith before his death, wrote her a letter, signed, “Your Valentine.”
The Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Valentine as a feast day of their “Calendar of Saints.” The Roman Catholic Church celebrated Valentine universally on February 14thuntil 1969, when they concluded that there were not enough facts about his life to warrant a special day of remembrance (Some local diocese and orders, continue to keep the feast on the annual calendar).
It wasn’t until sometime in the 1700’s, however, that in England, Valentine’s Day became the day in which lovers expressed their love towards each other with gifts.
While Valentines Day has been primarily relegated to the celebration of eros (erotic, romantic) love, Saint Valentine was even more interested in communicating the agape (divine/God’s) love to people.
Valentine was an amazing witness of God’s love to the people of his day.
Like Valentine, the best way to truly honor Valentine’s ministry and life would be to find practical ways to demonstrate God’s love to people in our sphere of influence.
LOVE DOES SOMETHING
The Father always expresses His love practically. He doesn’t just talk about how He loves us, but demonstrates it in demonstrative and subtle ways.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son…(John 3:16).”
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him (1 John 4:9).”
God continues to demonstrate His love daily towards us in signs and wonders, miracles, healings, prophetic words of encouragement, intervention, provision, deliverance, and blessing beyond our expectation.
This Valentine’s Day, I want to encourage you to do something practical to demonstrate the love of God to someone.
Here are some practical spiritual gift ideas to add to the chocolate, card, and roses:
Text someone a Scripture about God’s love
Draw someone a prophetic picture about how God sees them
Give someone an encouraging word (prophecy) about God’s love
Find someone who needs a miracle of healing and pray for them
One of our students drew an out of shaped heart on a card with the simple words, “You are God’s Valentine.”
While in line at a local supermarket, he saw a middle-aged woman who he felt led to give the card to. As he handed the card to her, and began to give her a prophetic word, he realized that she was deaf.
After a short prayer, she was completely healed, and began sobbing saying, “I have been a Christian for many years, but I have been questioning God’s love for me. Now I know that I am God’s Valentine.”
We could literally transform someone’s life this Valentine’s Day with some simple acts of risk.
Do you have a testimony about how you were able to practically demonstrate God’s love to someone like Valentine did so long ago? Tell me about it in the comments below.
Remember to tell your friends about this blog, so that we can change the world together because God still loves the world.
Kevin Dedmon has been in pastoral ministry for over 30 years and has a B.A. in Biblical Studies and a M.A. degree in Church Leadership from Vanguard University . Kevin conducts Supernatural Lifestyle Conferences worldwide in which people are equipped, empowered, and activated in miracles, healing, and prophetic as a normal lifestyle of the believer.
He also teaches revival Kingdom theology in the School of Supernatural Ministry and trains new believers and new members in a revival supernatural lifestyle in his Firstarters class at Bethel Church .
Kevin has also authored the following books: The Ultimate Treasure Hunt,Unlocking Heaven: Keys to Living Naturally Supernatural, The Risk Factor,T.N.T., Firestarter curriculum, and HomeFire curriculum.
