"We love because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19
As people are no doubt aware, in less than a week St.Valentine's Day approaches. I was thinking about the above verse and the warning to the Church in Ephesus in Rev 2, regarding the need to retain God as our first love in the face of the things around us that can divert our attention.
I then had the idea of sneaking into a local Church on Tuesday and leaving a Valentine's card addressed to God (In true Milk Tray man fashion)... and then I got to thinking wouldn't it be good if Christians all over the place did something similar.
Some of you might regard that as corny - that's your right and prerogative. I see it as an opportunity to either demonstrate affirmation of our love for God, or a chance to say sorry for not putting God first. It is not about condemnation, it is not about pity it is about love - God's love and ours. I'm not doing this lightly, Valentine's Day in the past used to be a painful time for me and I used to react really negatively to any frivolity that came of it. I've lightened up since those days... and what to mark the day with something positive! The beauty of it is, you don't have to spend £10 on a really expensive card if you don't want to. You can make your own. The sentiment inside is what matters. It doesn't matter if you are attached or single - nobody loves you more than God - and this is an opportunity to acknowledge that.
If you are stuck, and can't get to a church but want to take part, you should be able to find an address at this website:
http://www.findachurch.co.uk/
I'm hoping to encourage more people to be like-minded. If you want to get involved, I'd be glad to hear from you. Trackback it, email it, chop my name off if you want I don't care. The more the merrier!
Can you imagine the look on your local minister's face when he next wanders into church and finds the altar completely covered in cards for God?
As people are no doubt aware, in less than a week St.Valentine's Day approaches. I was thinking about the above verse and the warning to the Church in Ephesus in Rev 2, regarding the need to retain God as our first love in the face of the things around us that can divert our attention.
I then had the idea of sneaking into a local Church on Tuesday and leaving a Valentine's card addressed to God (In true Milk Tray man fashion)... and then I got to thinking wouldn't it be good if Christians all over the place did something similar.
Some of you might regard that as corny - that's your right and prerogative. I see it as an opportunity to either demonstrate affirmation of our love for God, or a chance to say sorry for not putting God first. It is not about condemnation, it is not about pity it is about love - God's love and ours. I'm not doing this lightly, Valentine's Day in the past used to be a painful time for me and I used to react really negatively to any frivolity that came of it. I've lightened up since those days... and what to mark the day with something positive! The beauty of it is, you don't have to spend £10 on a really expensive card if you don't want to. You can make your own. The sentiment inside is what matters. It doesn't matter if you are attached or single - nobody loves you more than God - and this is an opportunity to acknowledge that.
If you are stuck, and can't get to a church but want to take part, you should be able to find an address at this website:
http://www.findachurch.co.uk/
I'm hoping to encourage more people to be like-minded. If you want to get involved, I'd be glad to hear from you. Trackback it, email it, chop my name off if you want I don't care. The more the merrier!
Can you imagine the look on your local minister's face when he next wanders into church and finds the altar completely covered in cards for God?
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