What Makes a Happy Valentine’s Day?

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:11-12 (ESV)

What Makes a Happy Valentine’s Day?

How high are the heavens above the earth? How far is it from east to west?

How do you even measure those things?

We can launch into space and still can’t explore the farthest corners of space. Billions of heavenly bodies are beyond our reach.

We can travel around the world certainly in less than eighty days. However, since there is no defined point where east starts or west ends, you can start going east and never stop and never reach the destination of west.

God’s love is limitless

God’s love for us is so limitless it is beyond our comprehension. When He forgives our sins, they can never be accredited to us again. They are gone, so far from us that, for all eternity, we can never find them again. Placed in a destination where it is impossible for us to reach.

Valentine’s Day

Today is Valentine’s Day and we have experienced the ultimate love to celebrate today in God’s redemptive and transforming forgiveness.

Can we pass it on?

How often do I bring up something my husband has done wrong in the past? When my kids misbehave, how many times do I rehearse their past mistakes?

Even missteps I have ‘forgiven’ get dragged back up in the heat of anger or disappointment. But not this Valentine’s Day. Not today.

Wipe the slate clean

Today, I want to forget those wrongs as far as the east is from the west. To wipe the slate clean for my family. To show them the love that has been extended to me time and time again by my heavenly father.

How do I want to be treated?

I don’t want my misjudgments continually returned to the light. I want them eradicated as far as the east is from the west. I want love that is as high as the boundless heavens. Why would I treat them any different than I wish to be treated today?

True Love on Valentine’s Day

Who wants to join me in the resolve to bring true love to this celebration of hearts and flowers and kisses and candy?

The Gift of True Forgiveness

Let’s show our friends and family the nature of God’s infinite love for us by giving them the gift of true forgiveness. Their mistakes, no matter how many times they have made them, have been removed from them until they cannot be found again.

A truly happy Valentine’s Day

Let’s all start a Happy Valentine’s Day that has nothing to do with chocolate and greeting cards and more to do with grace and kindness.

Action Step:

Take a moment and commit to not bringing up past wrongs today. Replace those annoyances and wrongs with attributes for which you are thankful. Ask for forgiveness and extend it more freely today.

Prayer:

God, thank you for Your amazing forgiveness that is so complete and all-encompassing that it is for all eternity. Help me to pass on that unbounded love in my home and circle of friends. Enable me to set the stage for the happiest of Valentine’s days and keep that grace in my heart all year.