February is the month of Love. We have Valentine’s Day with its assortment of Valentine’s Day cards, candied hearts and chocolate, red attire and flowers. Valentine’s Day is the one holiday with the greatest number of flowers sold! Around 250 million roses are sold with red roses making up 83% of the sales with $2.6 billion dollars spent in 2024 (this is according to AI).
While we show our love for one another through cards, candy and flowers, I began to think about how love is shown in the Bible.
We see love when God sent Jesus to redeem us from our sin through his death on the cross in 1 John 4:9-10; we see his Covenant of unfailing love in Isaiah 54:10 and we see the depth of God’s love for us in Genesis 22.
Because God loves us, we desire to love others by bearing one another’s burdens as found in Galatians 6:2. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 reminds us what love is and love spurs us to building one another up in Philippians 2:3.
During Jesus’s life on this earth, he healed a leper (Matthew 8), he washed his disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17) and he taught people to love their enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).
Showing love through caring for God’s people as they age is something we do everyday at our Baruch Senior Ministries homes. I see kindness, generosity, grace, and forgiveness. These are the love actions that keep us going and that kept the saints in the Bible stepping forward, serving the Lord.
I pray that as you step through February, showering people with cards, candy and flowers, remember to shower them with God’s love because God’s love will have an eternal impact on his people.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Chaplain Val