The greatest love of all
Once again we’re in the month of love and the colour red is emphasized in almost every store we enter. Around us there are constant reminders that we should appreciate our beloved ones more. And we could argue if it’s right to only be reminded of this one day a year, but instead, let us look at something interesting in the origin of Valentine's Day.
Though the original Saint Valentine is more or less a mystery, we can be sure that he was a martyr who gave his life for Jesus Christ. When I hear about martyrs I usually think about if I would be willing to sacrifice my life for my faith as well. I want the answer to be yes, but I know myself well enough to know that there is a fear inside of me. A fear that sometimes stops me from telling people around me about Jesus. The only thing that can overcome that fear is love - a special kind of love.
The NG group in Midgårdsskolan in Umeå did an outreach where they gave out some free breakfast to the students in their school. The group leader said that they did this to spread some love in their school. (October, 2022)
So, what is love? Apart from being something beautiful that we can share with each other we need to be continually reminded of the greatest declaration of love. That is the amazing fact that God himself came to this earth through his son Jesus who then died for us. Not because of our good deeds, or because it was Valentine’s Day, but because of His love, grace and mercy for our lives.
1 John 4:18 says “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love”.
As Jesus’s disciples this love and forgiveness should be mirrored in how we live our daily life. An encouragement to you is to pray that your time in school will be influenced by His love. But don’t just stop there, now take the opportunity this spring to write notes with compliments, give a bible to someone or tell them your testimony. And if it feels scary to take that action, remember that love overcomes every fear!
Rebecca Westergård