This year’s valentines was the best valentines I had ever had. No I did not receive flowers, and no – there was no candle lit dinner. But there was something particularly beautiful about this valentines. For the first time, in years, I had come to a full realisation of how much I was valued, and how much I was loved by God. It finally occurred to me that I could indeed be God’s Masterpiece. I looked through the canvas of my life and saw an Artist at work. I saw mistakes which had been turned into miracles, disappointments which had been turned into appointments, tears which had been turned into laughter – but more so, I saw a loving hand weaving through every facet of my otherwise tumultuous life.

Therefore, as the 14th day of February 2021 approached, I wondered how I would celebrate my renewed perspective on life, my new found joy and the miraculous fulfilment that I felt deep down in my soul. What better way than to show some Holy PDA by sharing scriptures and portions of the Bible which assure me of God’s profound love for me?

The revelation of God’s love is one of the most important revelations a Christian will have on this other side of eternity (Ephesian 3:14-21). This is because without a deep understanding and a wholesome acceptance of God’s love, we will always find it hard to trust God. Lack of trust (that is lack of faith) poses a great problem because the Bible says that, “without faith, we cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6)” – and yet the joy of the LORD is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Everything then revolves around our perception of, and appreciation, of God’s love. So, in this 3-part series, which I have affectionately called Every Day Valentine, I will talk about some of the scriptures which touch my heart with the love of God and why they do so. Let’s get into this.

In all honesty, I do not think today’s scripture has the sort of wow factor to it in the sense that I, a human being, would understand a wow factor. For a long time it was just one of the many scriptures I knew and referred to every now and then. But then, towards valentines day, I started to really meditate on it – sometimes unconsciously. And wow! As I was meditating on it, my spirit understood it, my heart felt it and my body accepted it.

You see, meditation to me can best be illustrated by the way a relationship between a man and a woman starts. First, the man declares his affection for the woman. More often than not, the woman has no reciprocal feelings for him and he has never crossed her mind, even as a last resort. However, she makes a slight but potentially dangerous mistake – she continues to entertain him, listen to him and she keeps him around. Then before she knows it, her heart is hooked. And alas! She falls in love with him.

If men, flawed as they are, are able to do this? How about God? If entertaining and listening to a mere mortal man can cause you to fall in love with him and develop feelings for him that were previously non-existent, how about entertaining the Holy Spirit? How about paying attention to the Word – Christ? How about spending time with the Father – God? The Bible is not kidding or suggesting “out-of-reach” methods when it urges us to meditate. Let us make it a point to meditate on the word of God everyday.

Back to the major purpose of this blog. The scripture I am about to present to you gives me the sort of feeling you get when someone you love genuinely (and generously) says “I love you”. To put it in simple terms, this scripture satisfies every longing. It reminds me that there is one who loves me in spite of, and not because of. I pray that you feel the same way when you read it.