By Audrey Bauman

This Friday is Valentine's Day. I thought we could spend the last days of this week thinking about love. I looked up the history of Valentine's Day online, and found these 2 comments.

"Valentine’s Day has a rich history dating back to ancient Rome. The holiday is named after Saint Valentine, a Christian martyr who lived during the Roman Empire. While there are several legends and stories associated with Saint Valentine, one common narrative is that he secretly performed marriages for Roman soldiers, defying Emperor Claudius II’s ban on marriage for young men. Saint Valentine’s actions were driven by his belief in love and marriage, leading to his eventual martyrdom." (awareness days.com)

"The origins of Valentine's Day are not clear. It is thought that there were a number of local fertility festivals in Europe in pre-Christian times. These were often in the middle of February. Many people also thought that birds chose their mates at this time of year. Around the year 1380, the English poet Chaucer wrote a poem for the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II to Anne of Bohemia. This is thought to be the first association between celebrations of romantic love and St Valentine's Day on February 14. The connection remained important throughout the middle ages." (timeanddate.com)

Interesting historical facts, but when we think about love - the most important thing we can focus on is God's love for us - for you.

John 3: 16  NLT

"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."

It's almost beyond my comprehension that God loved me/you so much that he was willing to take on a human form and live in our broken world; that he was willing to suffer a horrendous death on a cross to take the punishment for all our sin. Just think of all the terrible things we see in our world. It's enough to make us want to turn off the news. Think of all the things you've done that you are ashamed of, embarrassed about. Multiply that by the population of the world. How could God want to take all that on himself?

"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."

Do you ever doubt that God loves you? Well, you would say that God loves you, but if you did stop for a moment, you might think that God likely loves someone else more than you because they are better people, maybe a pastor, maybe an important person in politics, business or entertainment who is a Christian. You know all the mistakes you've made, all the wrong decisions, all the time you've wasted ... God loves me, but ...

Today I want you to read and really stop and think about each of the following verses. Truly understanding/comprehending that God loves you can make such a difference in our lives.

Ephesians 3: 17 - 19   NLT

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

How big is God's love? Will you ever completely understand it?

What do those verses say God's love will do for you?

Romans 8: 35 - 39  NLT

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can anything stop God from loving you? If you are facing difficult times in your life, does that mean God doesn't love you, that somehow you've stopped God from loving you? Does being a nervous, worried person stop God from loving you?

How much does God love YOU?

Our song for today is God Really Loves Us by Crowder, Dante Bowe.