I Claim You!

What kind of memories does Valentine's Day bring back to you from your childhood? Did you exchange Valentine's Day cards with your classmates or friends?     

For years I saved those cards with their simple greetings: "Be Mine," "I'm Yours," "I Claim You," or "Be My Valentine."

In the classroom, we decorated shoeboxes with red and pink paper hearts to create our own personal mailboxes. On Valentine's Day, we'd distribute our valentines to each classmate's box.       
  
It was a wonderful idea; however, there were a handful of times that I didn't receive as many valentines as my classmates. I went home in tears, and the sad experience stayed with me for a long time.    
    
We all need to feel wanted and loved; it's a prerequisite for our survival. Unfortunately, the world is not a perfect place, and sin has a way of messing things up. Then, growing up, many discover that true love is not easy to find     
 
But there is One Love that is perfect, and that is God's love. When I was young, we sang "Jesus Loves Me" in Sunday School. I always knew He loved me, but I think it is going to take a lifetime or more for me to understand the fullness of that love.     

So, here it is nearing Valentine's Day. If God sent a Valentine to your mailbox, I imagine him saying, "I claim you!," "You are mine!", "I love you," and "You belong to me!" But, truthfully, God's messages of love for you are written throughout the Bible. Do you know there are hundreds of verses that speak of love? (See below for a few examples).  

Valentine's Day is just one day, but God's love is unconditional, 24/7, without ceasing. Every day is a day to celebrate the love He has for us. So, Happy Valentine's Day--and know that You are Loved!     

                                                                                      #
​"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning..." - Lamentations 3:22-23
"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you." - Isaiah 54:10
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

---