A Valentine for the Ages

Valentines Day every year is a source of great joy for many. It's a day to be thankful for the special person in one's life. Of course, one shouldn't treat their significant other extra special just for one day, rather the day should be a reminder of what a blessing it is to be united with a spouse/future spouse.

That's why for many, Valentines Day is a bit of a depressing day.

I've fallen victim to this type of thinking myself. It can definitely be a little disheartening to see everyone around you in relationships and you wanting the same thing. As this Valentine's Day approached, I felt a rather sad feeling that I tried to suppress. Instead of sulking, I decided to go to the Lord in prayer, something we need to do more often. I prayed about finding my future wife, acknowledging that God's timing was right, not mine. I prayed for about 10 minutes, and then something I will never forget happened.

It's amazing how God answers prayer, isn't it? How that answer just appears suddenly is truly something. Right after I finished praying I went on Facebook and the very first thing that popped up in my feed was a picture with the words:

"Your love story is being written right now by God."

I was floored. This was no coincidence, for the Christian knows inside when a prayer has been answered. It was then when I fully realized that there's no reason to be sad when I have Jesus in my heart. Everything else that is good will come in time, but His timing, not mine. Right now, my mission is to grow spiritually.

As I look back on this year's Valentine's Day, I am bursting with a new-found inner joy. Jesus is the ultimate valentine, for he displayed the greatest love: dying on the Cross for my sins. Being sad on the day would be a disservice to that sacrifice. So, give thanks everyday. Pray continually. God answers, in His way, in His time.

A Good Person?

Are you a good person?

It's an interesting question. Almost 99% of the time when one asks another that the answer is "Yes." Most people consider themselves to be good. Many have the thought process of, "I've done many more good things than wrong things" and "Sure I've done some bad things, but I'm not as bad as that guy." Many evaluate "good" with doing things such as obeying the law, donating to charities, holding doors for others, etc. Those are all definitely good things to do.

But does doing them make one a "good person?"

A lot of people would say yes. Allow me to add something to that question: "Does doing those things, any of those things, grant you access to Heaven?" Then it gets a little tricky. Many would still say yes. I've overheard at least one conversation where one said, "I hope I'm going to Heaven." How straining it must be to not have security on where one is going after they die, to think that you have to do many good things to override all the bad things you've done.

Atheists wouldn't bring Heaven into the conversation, because to them it doesn't exist. So they would answer that yes, upholding the law, donating to charities, being nice, and other related things constitutes as being a "good person." The problem is that if you take God out of the equation, does "good" really exist? If so, what's our basis? What's the standard? It's man-made, because absolutes don't exist from a non-believer's perspective. So doing "good things" is almost meaningless from this point of view...because an absolute good doesn't even exist!

Let's say that God exists. What does He say about us in relation to good? In Genesis He called all that He had created "very good," and man was a part of that. That's right, humankind is a very good creation. We are all very good creations. Unfortunately, that goodness was and is tainted by sin, a darkness in everyone's heart. It does not change the fact that we are "very good" creations, but because of that darkness, we are not granted access to Heaven. So, a person can donate to charities, be nice to others around them, and even win the Noble Prize, but do any of these things pardon that darkness and gets one into Heaven? Does God see us as "good people" when we do those sort of things? The answer to both those questions is no because that darkness still exists.

But there is a way. God provided a way into Heaven, and that's through His Son Jesus Christ. No good thing we do is enough to take away all the bad things we've done. There's no "bargaining" with good deeds. Only through Christ can we have access to eternal life. Then all the good things we do will be for His glory. Jesus calls His followers "the light of the world," which is definitely the greatest definition of a good person!

Accepting Christ will put things into perspective; one begins to realize they are part of a bigger plan. Every good deed then has an absolute meaning.

...so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ~Philippians 2:15