“For this is how God loved the world: For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NLT)
Happy Valentine’s Day! I admit I’m somewhat cynical when it comes to Valentine’s Day. I think flowers, candy, jewelry, and dining are overpriced, and feelings of loneliness and rejection are heightened on the Hallmark holiday. But my cynical heart was touched and softened last week by a devotional that reminded me that Valentine’s Day has origins in the church, and no one has more reasons to celebrate love than the Christian church. In doing some research on Saint Valentine of Rome, there are several versions of his death, questions as to if he was even the person Valentine’s Day is named for, and the many pagan celebrations associated with the creation of Valentine’s Day. But one story that seems to be the most consistent is that Valentine was a priest in Rome at the time of Emperor Claudius II. Claudius, the Cruel, was trying to build his army and believed Roman men were unwilling to join the military because of their attachment to their wives and families. He, therefore, banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. God’s design of marriage and the family has always been in the crosshairs of Satan. After realizing the decree’s injustice, Valentine defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages in secret. When his actions were discovered, he was beheaded on February 14, somewhere around A.D. 270. He died trying to overcome evil with good, implementing God’s guidance for love and marriage.
With my renewed appreciation for Valentine’s Day, I began baking cookies for the occasion. After baking at least half a batch of delicious spritz butter cookies, I realized I had forgotten to add the red food coloring to the dough. In years past, I would dip the delicate, red-tinged cookies in white chocolate, but this time, I had to devise a plan B because a white coating on white cookies just would not do. As I dipped the white cookies in red-colored white chocolate (plan B), I realized they were a perfect visual of Christ’s love for us. “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Because of Jesus’s love for us He covers our sins so we can come into the presence of our Holy God with clean hearts. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Celebrate today with those you love, and remember we have already been given the best gift, and He was never plan B. And that’s your Tuesday Tidbit.
The photo is my new and now favorite version of my spritz heart cookies.