The Greatest Love Story Of Them All.
So, in America we celebrate this day of love, Valentine's Day. Which basically is a day of outward signs of affection; buying flowers (guilty!), sending cards (guilty!), decorating the house red & pink (guilty!). The thing is while these things are all sweet and sentimental, what we really need to check is our heart's motives. Why do we indulge in these silly traditions? Do we genuinely do these things from the heart with gladness because we want to make someone feel special and loved? Or do we do it because it's expected of us on this day during this month? I'm going to choose the first because I have hope in all of our hearts!
That hope for our hearts is found in Jesus! We are able to love because He first loved us. I can tell you this with confidence because I believe in a living, loving God and He's spoken lovingly to me through His living Word so many times I've lost count. The Word is the greatest love letter written. What the Bible truly is is one big story of redemption, words inspired from God Himself telling the story of Jesus who was sent to die for us to restore our hearts and souls...talk about love!
Now being real, I had fallen away from seeking the pages of this love story for answers to the beats of my heart. I was looking for it in other things. There came a time in my life though where I was tired of battling these heart pangs alone and in my own strength. I needed a change of heart and started this by seeking the pages of a devotion book which has Scripture formatted in such a way that the words on the page served as a self help, a chicken soup for the soul.
The days I wasn't consistent with that devotion book, God used outside tactics to capture my heart. A very specific example (one of many) was a time I was making a playlist in preparation for an upcoming music festival. This certain band's name kept popping up, would the words of the lyrics soothe the soul? Would the lyrics speak to the heart? I look up the band on iTunes, and the only three song titles that showed up were as follows:
1. "HOPE"
2. "Silly Girl"
3. "I'm The One"
And there it was, the answer. God is the the One who wants a relationship with us, who speaks to the heart and soothes the soul. He created our hearts with all those desires pumping through it, and is ready to romance us in such a way that your heart is won over for eternity. You can't find answers in candy shaped hearts, you can't find this in the love of a band, you can't even find this in religion. This relationship is not a religion. Religion is man's idea of what we need to do to be accepted by God, what rituals we think we need to follow to gain favor in His eyes. But God doesn't ask that of us. He doesn't need heart shaped balloons, let go, sent up towards the sky as a sign of our true devotion. He grants us this gift of grace for free (Jesus paid the price for us...the package is already signed, sealed, and delivered). Our only task is to open it, and let the gift of grace fill up our hearts!
On this day of love, I choose a love story that allows for no heart shaped balloons being popped, no chocolate hearts melting away, and no candy heart's being crushed. I choose the love story that stands the test of time, and has the promise of a hope in something greater.
xo,
Alysha M.
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