Archives: February 2009

Editorial...

Is Jesus just a big Valentine's card?

As a young lad the tactic I - and most of my peers - would use to woo a girl would involve playing a little 'hard to get' (that meant just ignoring the girl you like) combined with spontaneous and clever displays of footballing prowess. I still believe (despite what girls say) a decent Cruyff turn or some ball juggling skills will make any lady swoon and instantly fall in love with you.

And if the football masterclass didn't work, just send them some Valentine's card with a nice poem in... girls love that stuff (apparently). In fact, let's be honest, we all love it. It's a pretty nice feeling to know you have an admirer and it's pretty fun when you decide to go about sending a card.

But forget your cards and your chocolates for a minute. We're talking about expressing our love, our feelings and our emotions... is a card enough?

When we look at Jesus it's pretty obvious he knew how to show people love.... and he never sent a card. He wasn't about romantic love which is exclusive to just two people. Instead he was about caring, noticing and valuing individuals. Jesus is beyond all Valentine's day gifts. Although this is going to sound cheesier than a pack of Wotsits (but hey, this is the month of the cheesey valentines message), Jesus is himself a gift of love, the ultimate Valentine, offering himself that we might come to know and be in relationship with our creator. None of us can beat that.

Now we're not saying that we should go about offering to die for our friends as an expression of love on Valentine's Day... that would be a bit extreme. What we are getting at is that Valentine's day gives us an opportunity to express love, but it doesn't tell us what love is. It's not showing off with a football, sending a box of chocolates, or even giving someone some flowers. It's much more than all those things, and it's Jesus who shows us what love really is. Love is sacrifice, forgiveness, commitment and relationship.

The key is that love is much more than we can write with our words, or express with cards and gifts. Love is a commitment that puts others first, even sometimes when it hurts us.

Still, gifts and words are good. And as we love you we have a whole new edition of the mag for you to enjoy. For more on sending cards, just check the Reality section and read about peoples Valentine's Day experiences or if you don't fancy reading, head to our Bible Study and listen to the first part of our Bible overview!

Have fun!

Dan
editor@soulsurvivor.com