F. D. Adkins
It seems our culture is captivated by love and fairy-tale romance. The theme of love and the happily-ever-after that we all seek is either woven into or at the center of our movies, television programs, and books. Even children’s books and movies embrace the theme of love. A MasterClass article, “8 Popular Book Genres: A Guide to Popular Literary Genres,” reveals that romance is the top-selling book genre.
Last Monday was Valentine’s Day, a day we have set aside to celebrate love. And, as can be seen by the amount of money spent on this occasion, it is a holiday that we take seriously. The National Retail Foundation reported that, according to their recent survey, they expected 23.9 million dollars to be spent on Valentine’s gifts this year. The article continues with the results of the survey detailing that 53 percent of Americans planned to take part in the Valentine’s celebration with each one of those consumers spending an average of 175 dollars on gifts.
But we cannot celebrate a day of love without considering the ultimate love story, the only one with the guarantee of a happily-ever-after ending.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV
How amazing is that! God loved us so much that he sacrificed his Son so that we could live with Him forever in Heaven.
But what is love? 1 John 4:10 defines love. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” True love is loving another even when that person does not love you. Jesus gave His life for us before we knew Him… He gave His life for us while we were sinners.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 KJV
Jesus lay down his life for each of us. The Bible states that there is no greater love than this.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 KJV
Remember, there is no greater love story. If we put our faith in Jesus and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we will live happily-ever-after with our true love.
“And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:40 KJV
Sources:
“8 Popular Book Genres: A Guide to Popular Literary Genres.” MasterClass, 9 Aug. 2021, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/a-guide-to-popular-literary-genres#8-popular-literary-genres.
“Americans to Spend $23.9 Billion on Valentine’s Day This Year.” National Retail Foundation, 31 Jan. 2022, https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/americans-spend-239-billion-valentines-day-year.
Bible Verse for the Week:
Oh Farrah….
The Greatest Valentine Ever Written…. Written in RED …. The Blood of Jesus.
This is so Beautiful…… thank you for sharing