February 14
It is said that St. Valentine died for love. According to one tradition associated with the establishment of the holiday bearing his name, the Roman Emperor Claudius II ordered that no one in his army be allowed to marry because doing so distracted his soldiers from the business of fighting.
When St. Valentine performed marriages anyway, he was sentenced to be executed. We celebrate his commitment to the holy state of matrimony –his commitment to the concept of faithfulness to one person through a lifetime—in a period of time when the whole idea of romantic love has been turned on its head.
Divorce is statistically rampant; same-sex marriage is touted as equal to the bond between a man and a woman; having a multiplicity of lovers rather than to marry at all is totally acceptable in our ‘post-Christian society.’ But God’s word in the matter has not changed. He still says that the marriage bed is to be undefiled (Hebrews 13:4). His standard of honor in love, like St. Valentine’s, is unchanged by the winds of modernity.
In Proverbs 21:21, Solomon stated (prior to his forsaking of God’s eternal wisdom for worldly pleasure), “He who pursues righteousness and love finds life.” The admonition of the young protégé of Paul echoed that truth in II Timothy 2:22: “Flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with believers who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Seek real love, for “…God is love…” I John 4:16.
Life affords us many opportunities. Living in a 'free' country assures that our citizens may avail themselves of any right secured for them by the law.
ReplyDeleteYet, there is a higher law, an immutable law that God Himself sets before us and our compliance with it is a greater assurance of our ultimate well-being than any mere 'pursuit of happiness' might give us on a short term basis.
For that reason, we extol the Biblical formula for love and marriage, while we would fight to the death to assure all citizens the rights extended to them by the law.
On this Valentine's Day and always, may God's love as manifested in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ be the foundational love of all other loves--toward the end that each of us find not only happiness in love, but also eternal blessings in love.