Good morning everyone,

Matthew 13:20-21-As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

If you have been seeing someone or married for awhile you are bound to come up on a Valentine’s Day where you feel like you almost have to get your girlfried or wife something because of this tradition. But as a wife or girlfriend you have to have a heart to receive that gift as well. Though personally I think Valentine’s day is corny, the celebration of love never is. But I have to ask, is it really love if it doesn’t last through times that are difficult, painful, and have no feel of celebration at all?

One good thing about Valentine’s day spiritually is that it heavily influences the husband/boyfriend to show a gesture of love whether he "feels like it" or not,(especially if they work around other woman). It also heavily influences the wife/girlfriend to show a gesture of gratitude and joy when she gets whatever it is, whether she "feels like it" or not. In other words both sides aret trying to express unconditional love, at least in gesture.

So how does this relate to God? Well if our relationship with Christ is based on receiving "blessings" from Him that make us giddy for the day/moment, but fall away from Him before the end of the week, can we say we are in love with Him? People fall in and out of emotions all the time, but love fights through pain, mistakes, offenses, whatever to maintain a heart that is united to each other. For a day to be the reason we "fight" to give or receive love, instead of Christ being the reason, what does that say about our faith at the moment??

In His Love, Ld