Journey of Love – The Ultimate Love of St. Valentine
I never really knew that much about Saint Valentine. I knew that we celebrate love on his day but
that was about it. So, I did a little
research. Apparently, he was known for
marrying Christian couples in the third century. Perhaps that is why we celebrate love on his
feast day. I believe that his love went
way beyond that.
Valentine was arrested and brought to Rome to face charges for
subversion. It seems that some were
being married by him to avoid going into the military. While he was jailed, some stories tell of him
healing the jailer’s blind daughter in response to the jailer’s challenge. This convinced the jailer so that he and his
household converted to Christianity.
Valentine was then brought before the Emperor Claudius. Claudius treated him with favor until
Valentine tried to convert him. He then
threatened to kill Valentine unless he renounced Christ. Valentine’s ultimate act of love was to
refuse to renounce Christ. He was badly
beaten and still clung to the truth.
Finally, he gave his life out of love for Christ.
This Valentine’s Day, while we exchange gifts with our loved
ones or even celebrate singleness, let’s ask ourselves if we have that kind of
ultimate love. Would we lay down our
lives for those to whom we give those Valentine’s gifts? Do we believe with such conviction that we
would suffer beating and even death out of love for Christ? In many parts of the world there are those
who face the same threats that Valentine did.
Let’s remember and pray for them and pray that we would love with such
complete abandon!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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